Improbability Factor
by Mayhem21
Summary: When Esset threatens Schatten’s very existence, what they thought was impossible turns out to merely be ... improbable. Sequel to 'Total Mayhem.
1. Dogs of War

**Improbability Factor: Chapter One – Dogs of War**

_**NOW OFFERING UPDATE NOTIFICATIONS! SEE LIVEJOURNAL FOR DETAILS.**_

_By Ptath and Thalia _

_Beta-ed by Thalia_

_Inspired and assisted by Lady Raina_

_**Disclaimer**: We do not own Weiss. Even if we could, simple self-preservation would dictate we stay far, far away. _

'This' mean thinking to one's self ('Time to introduce myself')

'_This' means talking telepathically ('hello, my name is George,')_

"This" _means talking out loud _("I like cats.")

* * *

**FARFARELLO SAY: A SURPRISE WILL COME FROM AN UNEXPECTED SOURCE.**

* * *

**Koneko, 2:00 pm**

Schuldig rounded the corner, feeling quite pleased with himself when he located the person he sought. Sakura stood in front of Farfarello's door staring at it, completely unaware of the German's presence even though he had spoken her name twice now. As he approached he began to feel it . . . _anxietyhesitancydesirefear_. Something was clearly wrong.

_'Sakura?'_ the telepath asked gently hoping it might pull her out of her entranced state. He was starting to worry.

She looked up, starting slightly at the sight of him, more alarmed than guilty at having been caught.

"Is everything ok?" Schuldig inquired carefully, even though he knew it wasn't.

Sakura blinked distractedly, mumbling that everything was fine even as she began to move past him. Normally, the German would have simply let her go, knowing that Aya would come find and talk to her. Or if Sakura really needed something, she could always go to Crawford or Ran. Unfortunately, Ran was downstairs helping prepare for Aya and Crawford's 'Welcome Home!' party, as the pair was due to return to Tokyo in an hour.

And there lay the reason for Schuldig's search. Sakura was technically in charge of the party and her sudden disappearance had thrown things for a bit of a loop.

He reached out, snagging her arm as she passed, determined to help the newest member of their family when something was clearly bothering her.

Sakura went rigid with the physical contact, and Schu was hit with the memories that ran through her head. _Shooting Aya, trading places with Aya-chan, Schu's taunting, Schu hitting her, and Fear._

The German's eyes went wide. She was afraid of him. Truly, genuinely afraid. Ordinarily, someone fearing him wouldn't have bothered the smug telepath, but this time was different. This time it hurt. He had known she didn't like him when he and Brad had made their surprise appearance at the Koneko two months after the Elders had fallen, but he had thought things would be a little better by now. Of course, he hadn't ever really made any efforts towards endearing himself to the teenager, so he couldn't really blame her. In fact, until now, she hadn't even given him an inkling of an idea about how scared of him she was. After their first visit she had always been polite and respectful, she had been incredibly helpful (and patient) when they had first started working at the Koneko, at Saito Mansion she had reached out to him, tried to comfort him despite her fear, she had walked arm-in-arm with him at the end of the wedding, and now she was living under the same roof with him.

Gently pulling the girl so that she stood in front of him, he released her and looked her in the eye.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Schuldig stated softly.

Sakura looked away, unable to meet the other's gaze. She had hoped he hadn't picked up on any of it, but she should have known better.

"I know," she replied barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry."

'Why do the innocent always insist on being guilty? It really isn't all it's cracked up to be,' he thought sadly as he reached over, lifting her chin so she was looking at him. "Don't ever apologize for the way you feel."

She nodded to show she understood what he was trying to say.

"Now," he continued in an easy voice, "why don't you tell me what's wrong, and we'll see if we can't come up with some sort of solution."

Sakura sighed. "It's not important, at least not in the grand scheme of things. Besides it's stupid."

"Obviously, it is important to you which makes it important to me. We're family now. So spill, what gives?"

The teen sighed again, this time giving in, readying her explanation. "A couple of weeks ago Far asked to borrow something of mine. It is special to me and I really didn't want to, but I was afraid to upset him and agreed. I think he could tell I didn't want to and promised he would give it back just like it was, but that was about two weeks ago and now, well, I'm afraid I might not get it back. I don't think he intends on breaking his word, I mean I'm sure he just forgot, but I would very much like to have it back. I've thought about just asking him but . . ." she let her words trail off.

The telepath was picking up on it again . . . fear. She wasn't afraid of Farfarello like she was of him, but she was afraid of upsetting the Irish man in any way. Smart girl. "You're afraid of upsetting him," he finished for her.

"Um, yeah," she mumbled ashamed.

"So what exactly is this item that Far took such an interest in?"

The girl avoided his eyes as she began to explain yet again. "It is a teddy bear my dad gave me on the Valentine's Day before he died. It's the only thing I have left of him. Its fur is pink, well fuscia really. Everyone warned me it would probably be wise to get rid of as much of my pink stuff as possible before I moved in. Manx, Aya, Crawford, Ran, Nagi, Omi. Everyone. And I did my best and usually I keep my bear hidden away, but I had had a rough day at school and just needed something to hug and hold on to and remember the good times and then Far just happened to walk by and I hadn't bothered to shut my door and well . . ." she trailed off again.

At this point, the girl had reached miserable, and yet again, Schu couldn't blame her. She had only been living with them for three weeks, and already she had fallen prey to some of Farfarello's insanity only to be left feeling trapped with no one to turn to with this problem without being a bother. When they got this issue settled, they were going to have to have a little talk.

Sakura was surprised when the German suddenly walked past her and entered the madman's room, returning a few moments later with her cherished possession. He handed it to her noting the look of relief that swept over her features. He smiled.

She looked up at him as she gently hugged the bear to her. "Won't Far be angry that you went in his room?"

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about a thing," He said smiling as he draped an arm over her shoulders. This time she didn't try to pull away. They walked towards her room so she could safely deposit the bear in its hiding spot. "I'll take care of everything."

"Thanks, Schu. For everything." And finally he got a smile out of her.

He reached over ruffling her short hair affectionately. "Anytime. Now, we better get back down stairs before they send out a search party for us."

* * *

**Koneko, 3:15 pm**

Farfarello bounded up the stairs, his single eye glowing as he hollered, "They're here! They're here! They're here!"

"Of course they're here," Schuldig called from the sitting room. "Ran went out to help with the luggage!"

Outside, Brad sighed softly as the sound of screaming voices drifted down the stairs and out the garage.

"You look like you didn't expect the Koneko to still be standing," Ran commented in a dry voice as he hefted yet another of Aya's bags out of the trunk of the taxi.

"Considering the personal habits of some of the people inside," Brad calmly stated, "and the ruckus I heard when we called to let everyone know we had made it back in one piece, expecting to find a pile of smoldering rubble where the Koneko once stood is entirely logical."

"No faith," Ran sighed, shaking his head, "no faith what so ever."

"I have plenty of faith in you," Brad retorted. "I am, unfortunately, well aware of how quickly events can spiral out of control."

"Do you really think Farfarello would let anything happen to the Koneko?" Ran demanded. "He's been driving everyone nuts. He keeps buying new coasters so he can be sure that the tables don't get stains on them, he's dusted the building three times a day, he's re-washed the sheets on your bed five times and he required Ken to be escorted around the Koneko at all times. He hot waxed the kitchen floor; he polished the china in the china cabinet once a week and has practically taken over the flower shop. I think he's developed something of a Napoleon complex."

Brad raised an eyebrow as he watched Ran heft the last of the suitcases from the trunk. "We should start taking a vacation every time the Koneko gets dirty," he commented. "Or find a way to convince Farfarello that clean buildings hurt God."

Ran slammed the trunk shut and leaned against it, brow furrowing slightly. "We could get the building blessed," the telepath said dryly. "Maintaining a residence consecrated in a non-Christian faith would probably be motivation enough."

"I suppose so, but I'd prefer to keep the pagan rituals to a minimum." Brad glanced at the pile of suitcases and then at Ran. The red-head shrugged slightly, scooped up a few suitcases and disappeared.

"And all you need is a little bit of baking soda and some club soda to get that stain out. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes!"

Brad suppressed a groan and strode around the car and shoved a small suitcase in his wife's hand.

"Dear, please stop scaring the driver," he instructed in a calm voice. "Your brother has taken several of the suitcases in already. Do you expect him to take care of all of them?"

Aya gave Brad an exasperated look. "Of course not," she scolded. "And I was just giving Mr. Saga some advice. I wasn't scaring him at all, was I?" she stated, turning towards the nervous looking driver.

'Oh, uh, of course not," he stuttered. "It was all very, uh, interesting. But, the clock is ticking! Must be going! Congratulations to you both." The driver continued to babble as he backed into his car nor did he waste any time slamming the door shut and speeding away.

"Oops," Aya murmured. She looked at Brad, the faint gleam in her eye showing her amusement.

* * *

**Koneko, 4:00 pm**

Ran watched his sister click to yet another picture, pointing and gesticulating wildly, a huge grin on her face. She had commandeered Omi's laptop and gotten Nagi to set up a screen and projector so she could show everyone the pictures she had taken.

His lips quirked as a picture of Brad appeared. The precog was holding some unidentifiable substance, presumably food, and was staring at the camera with a '_You want me to do what?_' look on his face.

Ran let his eyes flicker towards the other American. When Brad finally noticed his gaze, Ran raised an eyebrow and tilted his head towards the office. A curious look on his face, Oracle nodded and the telepath stood, leading the way towards the shielded room.

Ran shut the door and leaned back against it even as Brad leaned against his desk. Brad gave him a steady look.

"I take it this isn't something we could discuss in front of the rest of Schatten?" he asked.

"Yes, I…" Ran hesitated, trying to figure out how to word what he needed to say. Finally, he sighed. "There's no easy way to say this," he admitted reluctantly. "I'm Maelstrom."

Silence filled the room. Both men stiffened slightly when loud laughter suddenly rang out in the other room.

"Come on, Brad," Schuldig called through the door, "Aya's about to tell us how you nearly fell overboard! Don't you think you should be here to defend your honor?"

Brad narrowed his gaze as he looked back at Ran. "I take it Schuldig doesn't know?"

"No," Ran admitted. "And I'm not telling him," he added sharply. "He'll know soon enough as it is."

"What, are you a precog now?" Brad demanded.

Ran shrugged. "I just know."

The precog groaned and covered his eyes, his mind racing.

"All right," he said after a few minutes. "I will need you to explain a few things for me but, perhaps, at a later date." Brad glanced at the door Ran was still leaning against. "I'd prefer not to spoil the festive mood any sooner than I have to."

"Makes sense," Ran replied, relief coursing through him. Then he grinned. "Besides, you need to get out there and defend yourself. Can't have the great Oracle of Schwarz become a laughing stock just because he couldn't explain why he almost fell off a boat."

* * *

**Koneko, 8:00 pm**

Aya hummed under her breath as she puttered about the kitchen, washing dishes and setting everything back in order. After putting away the final pots and pans, she took a moment to look around.

"Doesn't anybody know how to go grocery shopping in this house?" she exclaimed as she began opening cupboards.

"Ran's been going," Farfarello piped in from his spot on the counter. "But when he noticed we were getting low a day or two ago, he decided that you would want to restock yourself."

"Oh, really," Aya said dryly. "He's just afraid of all the shoppers."

Far raised an eyebrow. "You've seen them," he pointed out. "They're insane! A riot broke out over a sale of pickled whole artichokes. He said later that it was too dangerous for an assassin to be messing with."

"What was he doing getting artichokes?"

"He wasn't."

"Oh," Aya murmured. Then she sighed. "I suppose I'd best make up a list. I'll go in the morning before breakfast for any immediate needs."

Far beamed at her. "Here," he said extending a sheet of paper. "I made a list of everything we ate while you were gone. And yesterday, I checked to see what on it we had, didn't have or were low on."

Aya suppressed a giggle as she took the list. "Thank you," she said, her voice merry. "It's good to know that someone was keeping up with the house while we were gone."

Far frowned slightly. "I had to." He studied her for a moment, cocking his head to one side. "We all missed you. A lot."

The empath paused, looking up from the list. She looked at him, suddenly realizing how hard the separation had been for him, how hard it had been for him to fight the insanity Esset had inflicted on him alone.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her voice stricken. "I didn't even think. If I had, I would have made sure we returned sooner." Aya reached out and covered Far's scarred hand with her own. "I didn't mean to make things hard for you. I won't let you go back to that," she promised in a fierce voice. "I won't let what they did to you overwhelm you again. I won't!"

"It's ok," Far exclaimed in startled surprise. "Just don't do it again! Please, don't apologize. There's nothing to apologize for!" He took a moment, calming himself. He looked down at their clasped hands and shifted until he was holding her hand in a gentle grasp. "Just don't leave us again. Please?"

"I won't," Aya promised in a soft, gentle voice. "I wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

**Koneko, 8:47 pm**

Ran and Schuldig froze when the door to their room slammed open.

"Schuldig," Aya barked, "out!"

The German froze in mid-step. He turned, eyes wide and took in the sight of an enraged Crawford Aya. He blinked for a moment, decided that that book he'd been thinking about reading wasn't really that important and bolted.

Ran sat on his bed, a large, thick book on his lap and an apprehensive look on his face. He bit his lip for a moment before reaching over to the nightstand and grabbing a scrap piece of paper to mark his place with. After shutting the book, he dropped it on the floor and looked at his adopted sister expectantly.

"What did you mean earlier when you told Brad that Farfarello was driving everyone crazy?" Aya demanded in a cool voice.

Ran gave her a level look. "What brought this on?" he asked calmly.

"You have to ask?" she snapped.

"Yes," he replied. "I want to know what the problem is so that I can fix it."

Aya blinked, feeling as though the wind had been taken out of her sails a bit. She pulled back for a moment, took a deep breath and started over.

"Earlier, when you and Brad were unloading the car, you said that Far had been driving people crazy. I want to know what you said, what you did, the team did, in response to his behavior."

Ran frowned for a moment, thinking back. He looked back up. "We didn't say anything about it," he finally said. "We knew that he didn't like you and Brad being gone, and it made sense that he would want to keep everything in order for you." He shrugged. "We tolerated it as best we could. He got a little obsessive at times, so we had to rein him in occasionally, but for the most part we accepted it as a coping mechanism." He gave her a level look. "If he asked for help with something, we helped. Ken accepted being followed around the house all the time, when Far decided to wax the floors, we helped moved the furniture in the kitchen."

He leaned back against the headboard and studied his sister quizzically. "What brought this on?" he asked curiously.

Aya sighed and walked over to the bed. She threw herself down and looked up at her brother. "I was talking with Farfarello in the kitchen," she explained. "I hadn't realized…" she paused for a moment. "You do know that Esset induced his insanity, right?" When Ran nodded, she sighed and let her eyes roll to look at the ceiling. "I guess I've helped him get past a lot of what they did to him," she admitted. "And since I was gone for so long, he suddenly found himself having to fight it all alone." Her voice fell silent for a moment, and when she spoke again, it was much softer. "I just had to be sure that no one said or did something to make it worse. Especially after I abandoned him like that."

Ran snorted. "I hardly think going away on your honeymoon counts as abandonment. You came back, after all. And Far knows that the Koneko was still up to your standards. I bet he feels proud of himself for being able to help." He gave her a thoughtful look. "Have you considered pointing out to him that he managed by himself for three weeks?"

"What?"

"Well," he explained, "I'm not saying that he's back to normal now or that he doesn't need help. What I am saying is that he's improved to the point that he was able to hang on for three weeks without you. Yes, the coping mechanisms could get…extreme. But he did find ways to cope."

"I guess you're right," Aya admitted after a moment. She grinned suddenly. "I'll point that out to him tomorrow. He volunteered to go shopping with me tomorrow morning. Something about protecting me from killer vegetables."

* * *

**Koneko, Next Day, Breakfast**

Yohji yawned as he slowly brought his coffee mug to his face. He certainly didn't want to begrudge Aya her 'First Breakfast together as a family after three weeks!' but still…couldn't they have done breakfast for dinner? He yawned again and finally took a sip of his coffee.

Across the table, Schuldig did the same thing.

Simultaneously, coffee spray showered the breakfast table. Brad merely sighed softly and raised the morning paper higher to protect himself from stray coffee streams.

"Is there a problem?" Nagi asked mildly.

"This," Yohji gasped as he bolted for the kitchen…and water. "This is not coffee. What is this?"

Schuldig suddenly pushed past him and stuck his head under the faucet. _'There's a bag on the counter, Kudoh,_' he sent._ 'Why don't you check that?'_

Yohji glared at the German who seemed intent on drowning himself in the kitchen sink. It was entirely too early for sarcasm.

With a soft grumble and numerous grimaces at the foul taste in his mouth, Yohji reached out and grabbed the bag of coffee.

_Don Pedro's Guatemalan Coffee_.

"Farfarello put it on the list," Aya explained as she walked into the kitchen. She calmly pulled Schuldig out of the sink and filled two glasses of water.

Back at the breakfast table, Brad absently took a sip of his own steaming hot mug of coffee. The same reaction ensued.

"What the hell?"

Schuldig and Yohji walked in. Yohji extended his glass of water to Brad, a smug look on his face. Schuldig placed the bag of coffee in front of his leader with a dramatic flourish.

_Don Pedro's Guatemalan Coffee._

"Why am I looking at a bag of Central American coffee?" Oracle demanded in a tight voice.

"This is what we drank," Yohji explained.

"We were hoping you could get the full explanation," Schuldig continued.

"Guatemalan coffee hurts God."

"It also hurts my highly sensitive, highly sophisticated palate," Yohji snapped.

"We all must suffer..." Schuldig muttered, "for the sake of one. What happened to democracy?"

"It went out the door when God got involved," Nagi said dryly.

"Yes, when God gets involved, or, _a god_ gets involved, you get an oligarchy," Omi added.

Sakura merely rolled her eyes and went back to mopping up the coffee that covered the table. Nagi watched her work for a moment before speaking up. "Need a hand?" he offered.

"What?" she replied. "And let a _man_ try and _clean _something? It can't be done!"

"She's right," Aya added as she re-appeared with another cleaning rag. "You wouldn't believe the number of messes I had to clean up that this one and Toma left behind," she said as she jerked her head at Ran.

"Hey," Yohji called suddenly, "let's focus. BAD COFFEE!"

Ken sat back and watched Schatten squabble. Yohji, Brad and Schuldig had banned together to protect their coffee rights while Ran tried to get a word in edgewise with his sister. The soccer player finally sighed and glanced at the bemused looking Omi, Nagi and Sakura.

"You're going to be late for school if you don't get moving," he commented.

Sakura bit her lip, suppressing a giggle as she ran to fetch her bag.

* * *

**Koneko, Brad's Office, 10:13 am**

Brad leaned back in his chair and gave Ran a level look. "I had originally planned to wait a bit longer until we had this conversation, but I've decided that sooner would be better than later. What happened?"

Ran raised an eyebrow. He shifted his weight slightly, until his arm rested on the back of the chair whose arm he was perched on.

"I mean," Brad groaned, slightly, pinching the bridge of his nose, "How did you end up in Japan? How long were you at Rosenkreuz? Just how close were you and Schuldig?"

"Teleported. Seven years. Very close."

The precog gave Ran a dark glare. "Thank you, Schuldig," he said sarcastically.

"Fine," the telepath replied with a faint snort. "Schuldig and I considered each other brothers. Our minds merged and Rosenkreuz subsequently attempted to separate us.

They set Schu and I on a "training mission" and used a post-mission check-up to separate us and wipe our memories. I panicked and teleported for the first time. Somehow, I ended up in Japan."

"How dangerous are you?" Brad asked solemnly.

"What?"

Brad gave Ran a level look and began to dig through the papers on his desk. After a few moments, he pulled a page out of a file and held it out to Ran.

Ran's eyebrows went up when he beheld the warning Rosenkreuz had placed in Schuldig's file. "I'm impressed," he said with faint amusement.

Brad sighed. "Let me ask again. How dangerous are you? Is Mayhem?"

The telepath handed the paper back and looked Oracle in the eye. "We aren't."

"I need you to be on the level with me," Brad said in a frustrated voice. "I have to think about all of Schatten and I would hope that you would too considering you used to lead half of this team and the connections you've made with mine. And trust me when I say that you won't be doing anything to help or protect Schu if you lie to me."

"I would never hurt this team," Ran snapped in an irritated voice. "We were only considered dangerous because we were too strong to be controlled. And when I say control I'm using the Rosenkreuz/Esset definition."

"Alright."

"Secondly, what makes you think that I'd try to protect Schu?" Ran said in a defensive voice, instinctively downplaying the relationship between himself and the German.

"Everything you and Schuldig have done since Schatten was formed tells me you would protect him," Brad finally snapped. "When your memories returned you, and I quote, told me to 'leave Schuldig the hell alone!' You and Schu were clearly at odds yet you both remained in the same vicinity of the other, willingly. In fact, you sought each other out if the other disappeared. And with this," Brad continued, "you haven't told Schuldig that you were at Rosenkreuz, that you are Maelstrom. Considering that you called your relationship that of brothers, the only reason I can think of for not telling him is that you wish to protect him from some rather painful memories. Am I wrong?"

Ran let out a sharp breath and gave Brad an unreadable look. "No, your not," he said reluctantly.

Brad nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "Very well, then," he said. "I think that will suffice. Let me know if there's anything else you think we should discuss."

"So, we're done?" the telepath asked cautiously. "You don't want to know more?"

Brad looked at Ran and then at the warning and began to read it aloud. "Theft, arson, vandalism, harassment, use of explosive devices, mental manipulation of other students, mental manipulation of Rosenkreuz officials, assault…" He looked back up. "While I'm certain you could tell me some very interesting stories, I think I'd prefer to remain ignorant of the depravities you and Schuldig committed."

A hint of a smile flickered across Ran's face. "Your loss."

* * *

**Takahashi Ichiro High School, Lunch**

Nagi tapped his pen to his paper idly and let his eyes wander over towards the window. The teacher continued to drone in the same monotone voice about integrals, natural logs, and 'u,' all things Nagi had known about for more than a year.

The day had been fine thus far, he reflected. Perhaps, even good. His birthday had been acknowledged at the breakfast table by all…before the coffee incident, that is. And considering who made up Schatten, something like that had been bound to happen. All in all, it had been rather normal.

When the loudspeaker finally announced lunch, Nagi reached into his desk and pulled out his bag so that he could go meet Sakura outside. When he reached the shoe caddies, Sakura turned and grinned at him.

"Someone has an admirer," she teased.

"Wh-what?" he stuttered, eyes going wide.

Sakura giggled and pulled the door to the locker open. "See? Someone left you a present!"

Nagi stared at her for a moment. "What were you doing in my locker?" he asked in an odd voice.

"Getting your shoes for you, silly" she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Who's it from? There's a note with it!"

With a soft groan, Nagi pulled the box out and handed Sakura the note. "See who it's from," he instructed her as he began to pull the ribbons off.

"What the…"

Nagi stared at the now open box. Inside lay a dried, dead, black rose. He looked up at Sakura with confused eyes, the alarm running through him shooting through the roof when he saw her frightened look.

With a shaky hand, she held the note out to him. The simple text read plainly:

WE'RE COMING FOR YOU.

-ESSET

* * *

_For author notes and reviewer responses, see our livejournal at http://silvenstarlight.livejournal. com/ . Please visit our website at __ladyraina. __net/ (note – best viewed with Internet Explorer)._


	2. Foul is Fair

**Improbability Factor: Chapter Two – Foul is Fair**

_By Ptath and Thalia _

_Beta-ed by Thalia_

_Inspired and assisted by Lady Raina_

_**Disclaimer**: We do not own Weiss. Even if we could, simple self-preservation would dictate we stay far, far away. _

'This' mean thinking to one's self ('Time to introduce myself')

'_This' means talking telepathically ('hello, my name is George,')_

"This" _means talking out loud _("I like cats.")

* * *

**FARFARELLO SAY: SOMEONE IS WATCHING YOU FROM AFAR.**

* * *

**Takahashi Ichiro High School, Lunch**

Nagi snapped into action immediately and threw the rose and box into the trash. If an Esset agent had been in the school, they were in danger, and he had to get them out of there. He quickly but gently shook Sakura.

She came out of her daze quickly, biting her lip slightly as she turned her pale face towards him.

"Hey, I need you to stay with me, ok?" The hacker spoke softly so as not to alarm his already shaken friend. When she nodded at him, he placed a hand on her shoulder and continued. "I'm going to try and make contact with Schu or Ran through the link. We're going to be ok, I promise. I'll get us back home safe; I just need you to trust me."

"I trust you," she said evenly. "I know you know how to handle this, and I'm still just learning. I'll do whatever you need me to."

Sakura's calm demeanor was reassuring. The last thing the kinetic needed was for her to panic.

"Ok, just give me a sec while I try to let someone at the Koneko know about our situation."

Nagi prayed this would work because he really didn't want to risk using phones at all. The possibilities whirled in his mind. If Esset had gotten this close this time, how close had they been the past few days? He also didn't know what kind of range Schwarz's old telepathic link had, if any. They had always been in the same general vicinity in the past. Not that they were necessarily far from the Koneko, seeing as how they did walk to school everyday, but still it was farther than he had ever been from Schu or the others when using the team link.

'_Schu . . . Ran?'_ The kinetic sent tentatively.

'_Nagi?'_ Came the German's confused response.

'_What's wrong?'_ Ran asked.

Nagi sighed and relaxed a little. He could communicate, and they were both there.

'_Schu, the red M&Ms are in the bowl.'_

'_Shit.'_

'_Yeah. Here's what I need you to do: tell Brad to call the school and say that there has been an emergency and he needs us both to return home immediately. As soon as we get the message we'll start home.'_

'_Got it.'_

'_Wait,' _Ran interjected,_ 'why don't we just come and pick you up?'_

'_There's no time. Sakura and I need to have already left. We have to get away from the school. Even with how you drive it will be faster to have Crawford call the school and for us to leave.'_

Schu jumped in. _'Fine. I'm going now. You two be ready to move. Out.'_

With that Mastermind closed the link.

* * *

Ran looked at Schu quizzically. "What the hell was that about?"

"Nagi just issued a code red. Someone has knowledge of who and what he and Sakura really are, and they're an immanent threat."

"Shit."

"Yeah. I gotta go tell Crawford."

"Ok, I'm gonna go get the car. Meet me in the alley."

"But Nagi is moving as soon as he gets the message."

"I know. We may not be able to pick them up from the school directly, but we can pick them up en route."

"Good call. Meet you in five."

* * *

Nagi had Sakura's hand gripped tightly in his. He didn't want to lose her in the lunch crowd, and he needed her in close proximity so the energy shield he had put up around them as soon as they had left the school wasn't noticeable.

This was taking too long. Everyone was moving so slow that they had to practically force their way through the crowds. 'Maybe we should have waited for Ran and Schu to come pick us up,' he thought distractedly as they pushed their way through yet another group. Suddenly he felt a tug as Sakura stopped moving.

"Come on, we have to keep moving. It isn't safe out in the open like this."

"Listen."

Nagi paused for a moment and instantly he heard the very familiar sound of a foreign engine.

"Hey, get in," Schu hollered as they pulled up, and he hopped out of Ran's Challenger, moving his seat forward so that they could climb in the back.

Both teenagers scrambled for the safety of the car. Sakura got in and slid over to make room for Nagi. Ran started pulling away from the curb before the German could get the door shut.

The orange-haired telepath twisted around in his seat, so he was looking at the duo. "How long have you two been walking?"

Nagi looked at his watch, "About five minutes. Why?"

Ran spoke up. "No way," he said shaking his head. "We're already over twenty blocks from your school. Honestly, we were surprised you'd already made it this far."

Nagi looked around, his eyes widening when he realized they were only a few minutes from the Koneko. He had been so busy pushing his way through the crowd, making sure they weren't being followed and making sure that he didn't lose Sakura that he had actually been following the route home on automatic. He hadn't really been paying attention to _where _they were. He shook his head sharply. "This can't be right. We couldn't have made it this far already. We've only been walking for a little more than five minutes. I know. I checked my watch right before Sakura and I left."

Sakura chimed in, "Yeah, he did. I saw him."

"Are you sure you remember your departure time correctly?" Schu asked.

Nagi just gave him a look.

"Okay, okay," Schuldig relented, "then how do you explain the distance you covered in an impossibly short period of time.

Prodigy gave him a level look and sighed. "I don't know, I . . . I . . . I can't," he finally admitted.

A few moments later they pulled into the garage.

* * *

"Apollo, Apollo," the empath exclaimed as he scrambled back into the van. "Guess what I did!"

The swarthy looking Greek gave the young rookie a pained look. "What did you do?" he asked slowly.

"I made the children fear us."

"You idiot," Forstand snapped. "You warned them!"

"What? No, I didn't. They _were_ afraid. I could feel it! Especially the girl."

"Dingo," Voodoo snarled, "what do you think they're going to do with your little threat?"

"Huh?"

Apollo leveled a harsh glare at the young Australian. "You have put us in a very precarious situation, you imbecile. The key to defeating Schwarz is to take them by surprise. And now you've ruined the surprise. We'll need to completely change our plan, and do it fast. The longer we dally, the more time they have to prepare. We have been able to prevent Oracle from seeing us thus far, but now that he is alerted, he may be able to recognize our tactics and take steps."

* * *

**Brad's Office, Koneko, 12:27 pm**

Brad spun to face the door when the German pushed it open and strode in, followed by Nagi, Sakura and Ran.

"What happened," he demanded.

Nagi held the note out to his leader. "I found this in my locker, along with a dead black rose."

Brad read the few words, his brow furrowing in confusion. "This isn't like Esset," he murmured. He walked back around behind his desk and sat down once more. "Esset doesn't warn its targets," he continued. "They also don't typically do pre-emptive strikes. They establish a base and use attrition against their enemies before any real action." Oracle gave the Talents a sharp look. "Esset is extremely systematic. It's too soon after the fall of the Elders for them to begin taking offensive action."

Looking back at the note, Brad frowned. "Then again," he muttered, "with the shift in power and chaos over the past year and a half, it is possible that Esset's policies could have changed as well."

"So what are you saying?" Schuldig demanded. "Is this real?"

"We need to treat it as such," Ran interrupted in a sharp voice. "Anyone who knows of Esset and knows of us is a threat."

Nagi's eyes went from one adult to another. "So what do we do now?" he asked in a plaintive voice.

"Family meeting," Brad said.

* * *

**Dining Room, Koneko, 12:53 pm**

"This is a mega 'oh dear' moment, isn't it?" Yohji asked faintly.

"Well, considering that Brad told me to, and I quote, 'get my butt back to the Koneko yesterday,' I'd say so," Ken added dryly.

"Everyone shut-up," Brad snapped. "We have a situation."

"Really, now," Omi muttered.

The look Brad leveled at the hacker ranked a full 5 on the 'Fujimiya shi-ne death-glare' scale. Once the frightening glint of the precog's glasses was factored in, the glare more than doubled in potency.

Omi blinked, startled. Long familiarity to such glares, however, allowed him to merely send his own back at Brad Crawford.

"A dead, black rose and a note signed by Esset were left in my shoe locker," Nagi stated calmly, interrupting the glare showdown.

"What?" Aya demanded, her voice loud and containing a hint of worry.

Brad picked the note up off the table and handed it to her.

"They shall meet with an unholy wrath," Farfarello murmured calmly, a hint of his old Irish lilt surfacing. Schuldig gave him a worried look.

Omi and Ken responded with a joint "Shit."

A sudden, low predatory growl moved through the room, causing all to freeze before frantically seeking out the source.

"I will teach the world what it means to be Shinigami when they behold the impaled bodies wrought with decay, their faces frozen in terror, each with a single horror stricken eye staring out at the uncaring world, the ravens having made quick work of them, rich crimson blood congealed in thick pools at their feet, staining the pure earth a color straight from the depths of Hell. All will know they stared death in the face and lost."

The waves of hostility, anger and pure murderous rage flowed out of Yohji, only to be overlapped by an even stronger wave of protectiveness and determination. Aya's face had gone grey, her eyes filled with fear. Ran and Schuldig had both frozen, terror rippling through them as the frantically fluctuating emotions crashed into them, overwhelming their minds' shields and dragging them both under the wave of relentless wrath.

After several moments of fierce fighting Aya managed to push back the wave and began to project reassurance, calmness and security. Ran and Schuldig retreated behind her strong projection and began to cast about for a way to sedate his mood. Ran's eyes suddenly widened and he cast a frantic look at Sakura.

'_Sakura,'_ he sent urgently, _'it's you he's worried about and wants to protect. Go…fix it! Wave your hand in front of him, hit him over the head, whatever it takes for him to realize that you're safe.'_

Sakura stared at Ran in stunned surprise for a moment, then sprang to her feet and hurried over to the enraged blonde. She rested her hand on his hand, the one that now clutched at the note that had been making its way around the table and had trigged the frightening outburst.

"Yohji," she said in a soothing voice, "Yohji…_Yotan_, I'm ok. Everyone is ok. Yotan, you need to give me the note." As she spoke, she gently pried his hand open and took possession of the note, passing it quickly to Ken. "Kudoh," she continued, hoping his family name would bring back the playboy, "Please, Kudoh, look at me." When the blonde merely continued to grind his teeth, Sakura reached out and rested a gentle hand on each check. "Kudoh, look at me…please?"

Finally, green eyes twitched and turned to meet hers. Aya and the two telepaths sighed in relief as the strong emotions dissipated.

Yohji blinked and slowly raised a hand to cover one of Sakura's. He squeezed it in silent thanks and reassurance, an act that brought a relieved smile to the young girl's face.

Ken silently rose from his seat and took the crumpled note back to Brad. After a moment's hesitation, he took Sakura's seat, leaving his free for the girl. Sakura slipped into the chair and looked up at Brad expectantly, even as one of her hands sought out Yohji's under the table.

Brad cleared his throat, taking off his glasses and giving them a cursory polish. "Now then," he began, "we need to take steps to find out just who sent us this note. We need to know who they are, where they are and what they want with us." He paused, not wanting to stir up more drama but knowing that it was unavoidable. "Until we know more, no one will be leaving the Koneko unless absolutely necessary. That means that Nagi, you and Sakura, will have to call in sick to school."

"What?" Nagi demanded, his voice rising. "No! I will not! I will not let Esset start dictating my life again!" The teen's voice was fierce and determined. The airy chandelier above the table began to rattle faintly. "We're supposed to be free, that's what you said. Did we merely trade one master for another? Are we supposed to be your servants, your slaves, to do whatever you bid when something strikes your fancy? Was everything we did, everything we fought for meaningless?" He gave Brad a narrow look. "You promised us. You promised us we would be free and now you want to lock us up!"

Brad's eyes had widened and his face paled slightly.

"Nagi's right," Sakura suddenly added, her voice soft but strong. "If we stop going to school, they win. Whether they actually get to us or not, they will know that they frightened us, that they can control us with mere tricks. And then they win."

Schuldig looked at Brad, an unhappy look in his eyes. "They're right, Brad."

"The perception of victory is just as important as an actual victory," Ran added. "If they're going to strike, we need to strike back, and at this point, the best way to do that is to continue as we always do, to show them that we're not afraid of them and that we will fight them if they try anything."

Brad's eyes turned to his wife. Aya gave him an apologetic look and nodded her head in silent agreement. He took a deep breath, folded his hands on the table and gave the assembled team a stern look. "Very well then," he said calmly. "But I will not send Nagi or Sakura into a potential battle zone without taking at least a few precautions."

"I'll take them to school and pick them up," Yohji volunteered. "But I'll have to borrow someone's car since mine's only a two-seater," he added looking over at Ran and Schuldig.

"You can use mine," Ran replied. "I'll get you the extra key as soon as we're done here."

"No more lunches outside, chibis," Schuldig added. "Stay indoors."

"We'll also get Kritiker to monitor the school and see if some surveillance can be set up," Brad finished. "And as for searching for the origins of this note, we'll put together some solid plan in the next few hours. Think on it and bring me your suggestions later."

"Sounds good," Omi agreed. "I'll start trying to find a record of any visitors at the school and check the surveillance cameras. See if I can spot the person who left the note."

Brad nodded and watched his team slowly drift out of the room. As Ran began to rise, the precog caught his eye and nodded towards the office. Ran blinked and nodded solemnly and rose to lead the way.

After shutting the door, Brad gave Ran an unreadable look. "I need you to talk to Nagi," he said carefully. "I don't think he'll want to talk to me at the moment and I need…want…to know what sparked that." When the red-head's eyes began to narrow, the American quickly raised his hand to forestall the rebuke that was surely coming. "I'm not mad at him," he said in a soft voice, a slight frown appearing on his face, "but I'm not certain he'll realize that. He needs to be told that I've realized that I was wrong, to be told that I'm not mad at him. He needs to hear those words." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "He trusts you and I know that, whatever you talk about, you'll be able to help him."

Ran gave Schwarz's leader a piercing look, unhesitantly reaching out toward the precog to determine just how serious he was. What he found was guilt and worry, the only emotions Brad allowed the telepath to feel. Whatever else was going on inside the American's head, it remained tucked behind powerful shields that no one could breach.

* * *

**Nagi's Room, Koneko, 1:30 pm**

Nagi took a deep breath, still cradling his head in his hands. He was sitting alone in his dark room, trying to calm himself down after the dramatic meeting half an hour earlier. He still couldn't believe some of the things he had said.

'Brad's got to be pissed,' he thought morosely. 'I'm dead. There's no way I can get away with fighting with him like that. Not in front of everyone else…' He cringed when he heard a knock on his door. 'And here it comes…my death,' he thought, groaning to himself. Reaching out with his powers, he pulled the door open and waited for the end to come.

"That was quite a show," an amused voice commented. Nagi's head whipped up, blinking furiously when he saw Ran.

"You're not Brad."

"I certainly hope not," Ran said, a flicker of distaste running across his face. He shut the door and walked over to the bed. "I don't think I resemble an over-bearing anal-retentive precognitive American."

"No, you're just an over-bearing, anal-retentive American telepath with a very, very strange sense of humor."

"I try. Now, then," said telepath began. "Why don't we discuss that rather uncharacteristic outburst we had downstairs?"

Nagi gave Ran a miserable look. "What's to discuss? I fought Brad on a very important topic in front of everyone. I turned everyone against him, even his wife! I'm dead!"

"Hardly," the telepath immediately rebuked. "You were right and Brad was wrong. And since it came from you, he really had to listen."

"You don't understand," Nagi replied, his voice rising slightly. "You don't know Brad like I do. You can't. I've been on his team since I was ten. He's the one who found me, who brought me to Rosenkreuz and picked me to be on his team! He's the one who taught me everything, who kept me safe from Esset." He groaned and dropped his head back onto his hands. "Nobody defies him. Nobody. Schu never really means it. And when Far does, it's because he's not…lucid." Nagi looked back up and gave Ran a desperate look. "Nobody defies Brad Crawford, the Oracle, and I just did."

"You're still here, aren't you?"

"Not for long, I'm sure."

Ran suppressed a groan of his own, reaching out and placing a hand on the teenager's shoulder. "He's not mad," the telepath stated. "Brad asked me to come talk to you to make sure that you were ok. He's not mad at you, he's worried about you."

"What?"

"Brad Crawford admitted to me that he had been wrong to try and make you and Sakura stay at the Koneko instead of going to school. He asked me to come upstairs and talk to you to make sure you were alright."

"Why didn't he come himself?" Nagi asked in a soft voice.

"Because he seemed pretty sure that you would be reacting just like this and didn't want to make you feel so uncomfortable that you couldn't explain what caused that outburst."

"I was angry. Not at Brad, I don't think I could ever be mad at Brad." Here Nagi paused, hesitating slightly before he began to speak once more. "He saved me. Took me in and cared for me the best he could. When I was little and Schu and Far were out on recon mission, it would just be me and Crawford and he would let me call him Brad. It was as close as he could get to letting me call him Dad."

Hints of old pain and regret appeared in Nagi's eyes. Memories rose in him, memories of the quite moments and happy times. "He's the closest thing I've ever had to a father," he said, "but when the others were around he was Crawford. Schu called him Brad, but Crawford really didn't like it that much. He always tried to keep things as professional as possible, especially when we were still with Esset. He's loosened up a little since you all showed up, but I know that before, he never ever let Schu or Far call him Brad. I know that what I had was a special privilege. Sometimes I wish we had more time together when I could call him Brad again like I used to." He paused and looked Ran in the eye. "I was mad that Esset took away what was supposed to be a safe place. Sakura and I were supposed to be safe at school, and now that's gone. They've taken so much already. But when Brad was just going to let them take that away, I had a place to focus the anger."

"That makes sense, what else?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I know everything you just told me is true but I also know you are holding something back, something you really don't want to talk about because it scares you or something. I don't mean to pry, but you're projecting some in your distressed state." Ran gave him a reassuring look hoping he would tell him the rest.

Nagi hesitated for a second but decided hiding things from Ran and Brad probably wasn't the best idea right now. He had already escaped what he had been sure was immanent doom, and he wasn't about to push his luck. "I was scared. Not of what would happen to me, I can take care of myself, but I was worried about what might happen to Sakura if we didn't make it back safe. I, well . . . I kind of like her," Nagi finally admitted reluctantly, his cheeks flaming, "and besides that she is my friend, and she hasn't been with us nearly long enough and she is already caught in some major crossfire. I guess I was also a little angry about them threatening her."

Ran shook his head in slight amusement. "I'll bet Sakura never imagined she was this popular," he said more to himself than Nagi.

"You're not gonna tell her are you?" the kinetic asked a little frantically.

The telepath smiled over at the teen. "Your secret's safe with me."

* * *

Apollo looked over at his much-enlarged team, a grave look on his face. "This attack," he began, "is a statement, a power-play. It is a warning to all who would defy Esset and all who turn away from it." He cast his eyes around the cramped hotel room, packed as it was with eleven other people. "Our orders are to eliminate Schwarz, and Schwarz alone."

"What about Weiss? They interfered with the ceremony, they killed the Elders. Should they not also be punished?" Manchu growled.

"Their time will come," Apollo replied calmly, "but for now, we must solely concern ourselves with Schwarz. We want Weiss and Kritiker to know that we took out half of Schatten at their base of operations. That we can go in, kill whom ever we wish and get out with no consequence to ourselves at any time. You may immobilize Weiss, and anyone else who may be present, but you will not cripple them…or kill them." The Greek cast a fierce glare about the room. "Is that understood?"

No one spoke. Apollo nodded his head in satisfaction. "Good. Now, we wait."

* * *

**Koneko, Mission Room 9:37 pm**

"And that's pretty much all I found," Omi was saying in an apologetic voice. "The surveillance tapes revealed nothing. And the only information I could find on Esset was that there is a team of indeterminable size and strength in Japan that's eventual goal is to take out Schwarz."

Brad sighed softly, pinching his nose as he nodded. "Very well, then," he said. "Please continue to search. And as for everyone else," he added, looking out over the grave faces that made up Schatten, "be ready for anything. We don't know when we will be attacked or where. I doubt they will dare to attack the Koneko, but we don't know that for certain."

"You did," Ken pointed out, "maybe just once, but Schwarz did hit the Koneko once."

"That's because we're special," Schuldig replied. "And there's no way that Esset has a team that can come anywhere near us. We're fine."

Farfarello eyed Schuldig, his gaze turning towards Ken after a moment. "Why is he tempting _You-Know-Who_," he muttered under his breath. "That's just a bad idea under the circumstances."

"We should assume that their egos are at least as large as Schwarz's," Ran pointed out in a dry voice. "Egos are, after all, Esset's specialty."

"Point and case, the Elders," Omi added.

Ran gave the blonde a crisp nod. Looking around, he scanned everyone's faces before speaking once more. "Unless there's another point we need to address," he said, "I suggest we disperse and prepare for the next few days."

"Indeed," Brad agreed. As he and Ran watched, Schatten rose and slowly began to walk towards the stairs. The precog gave the telepath a slight nod before calling out "Nagi, a word, please."

Said kinetic froze in mid-step. Even after the talk with Ran, he'd remained in his room, using his laptop to do a bit of searching of his own. The lack of results had allowed him to remain silent throughout the meeting just as he had during dinner. As Ran walked by, he reached out briefly and allowed his hand to brush the teenager's shoulder in silent reassurance. Nagi swallowed and turned to face the American precog looming in front of the large television.

Brad gave Nagi a calm, level look and began to speak. "So when did you get so opinionated?"

Nagi's face paled and he bit his lip slightly. "I didn't mean all that," he said softly, "I'm sorry." His shoulders' slumped as he collapsed on the couch. "I screwed up, didn't I?" he muttered miserably.

Brad sighed and walked over to the couch, sitting down next to the young telekinetic. "No," he said in a soft voice, "I'm the one who screwed up. You're the one who grew up when I wasn't looking."

Nagi raised his head and gave the precog a stunned look. "Why aren't you angry with me?" he asked. "Ran told me you weren't, but I know that if Schu or Far had ever said anything like what I said, you would have been all over them. Why am I any different?"

"Well, for one thing, you were right," Brad began. "I was concerned for your safety, so much so that I overlooked how that would affect, well, everything. And it's not so much that you're different as it is that everything is different." Brad gave Nagi a solemn look. "We're free now, free from Esset and from their expectations. I don't have to act the way I had to before. I will admit that it can be hard to break away from those patterns, but it is getting easier."

"So if Schu or Far came out with a statement like that, you'd send Ran upstairs as a councilor?"

"Hardly," Brad replied in a dry voice.

"So if we were still with them…with Esset…"

"Then this would never have come up," Brad replied. "We'd all still be acting out our parts and never daring to deviate from them."

"So…we're good?" Nagi cautiously asked.

Brad raised an eyebrow. "You tell me," he said, a hint of humor in his voice.

"Well," the teen replied after a moment, "if I keep acting up, could I eventually have a full-blown teenage rebellion?"

"It would get lost amongst all the other teenage rebellions in the house."

"I suppose you're right," Nagi laughed. He gave Brad a slight grin.

* * *

All of Schatten was asleep and the Koneko was quiet.

An explosion shook the building causing the pictures on the walls to rattle and dust to fall from the ceiling. Instantly, everyone was stumbling out in the hallways on the third floor, sleep forgotten in the sudden clamor.

'_It's them_,' Schu yelled, sending all the assassins into mission mode.

Ran began to move even as he began to speak, "If it's a fight they want then that's what they're going to get," he growled.

"It sounds like they blew in the front of the Koneko and are coming in through the flower shop," Nagi said quickly while Omi nodded his agreement with the younger hacker's assessment.

"Come on," Oracle ordered, "let's go throw them a nice welcome party; it's only polite after all."

As Schatten proceeded down the stairs they heard footsteps coming up towards them and they all veered off onto the second floor and concealed themselves, poised to attack. Six Esset agents came off the stairs onto the second floor. Just as Oracle was about to give the signal to attack, glass shattered in a flash and a bang.

The room was in chaos. Three agents came in through the window in the sitting room and three more had emerged for Brad's office. Schatten was surrounded, disoriented, and relatively unarmed. Brad had his gun, Yohji his wire, Omi the darts from his dart board, and Far some of his more valued knives. Everyone else had to rely on skill and skill alone.

Their enemies were well prepared. After the flash-bangs had gone off they had thrown in smoke grenades to help mask their entrance. Some were carrying pistols with laser sights and others carried the heavy batons known as asps.

Manchu smirked as he, Mouche and one of the grunts spied the lanky blonde, Balinese, and a quivering girl-child.

Ken swore when he spotted a smirking Chinese man moving around the low table in the sitting room, moving fast and pulling throwing stars out of his tunic. Abandoning his position just inside the laundry room, the soccer player launched himself at the agent, only to freeze when he found himself faced with Kase's pain stricken face.

"Help me, Ken," Kase whimpered, his face beginning to melt as though he had been placed in a burning fire. "You're the only one who can." The grunt who had been following Manchu suddenly burst through Kase's body, his baton swinging high and slamming down on Ken's head, knocking the soccer player out and leaving him and Manchu free to move on to continue the attack.

Mouche snarled as he frantically dodged Balinese's wire. Somehow, this…_human, this Norm,_ was moving nearly as fast as a telepath.

Sweat ran down Yohji's temple as he struggled to land even a glancing blow on the telekinetic. He was being toyed with, he could tell. The shield that prevented the wire from hitting the agent was going up and down, up and down. If something didn't change soon, he was going to lose.

Sakura's already frightened face lost what little color remained when Ken hit the floor with a sickening thud, blood dripping down his face.

Mouche's back arched as wire wrapped itself around his throat. Balinese…he'd sped up. _He'd sped up._ The already frightening speed had more than doubled and suddenly Balinese was charging, gleaming wire wrapped in his hands and a snarl on his face…

Aya's mind was reeling. Everything she was throwing at the tall, very dark skinned man kept getting thrown right back at her.

Voodoo gritted his teeth as he struggled to reflect the empath's attacks. He suppressed a number of violent oaths that were running through his mind. They weren't supposed to have an empath, let alone one this strong.

Hatred boiled up in Forstand when he beheld Brad Crawford. The precog was crouched in front of a small, slender Japanese woman. This man…he was the one that had dared to defy Esset. But not for long. He would crush him.

Throwing stars began to fly at Yohji before Mouche's body had hit the floor. A cry of pain left his throat as one of the stars turned like a boomerang and imbedded itself in his shoulder.

Manchu continued to launch the stars as fast as possible, only to be thrown off when a sudden blur darted in front of Balinese, headed towards the fallen Siberian and away from grunt.

Sakura pressed her fingers to Ken's throat, searching frantically for a pulse.

Yohji yanked out more wire, cursing as the blood coating his fingers nearly made him drop the wire.

The grunt that had followed Manchu blinked in confusion. The girl had moved. _Fast_. Faster than the blonde fighting Manchu, too fast for the grunt to follow.

Manchu's eyes bulged as the sharp wire wrapped around his throat, squeezing the life from him.

His hands now too bloody to hold the wire, Yohji's leg flew out in a flying spin kick that caught the confused grunt in the back of the head, his neck snapping with a sharp crack.

Brad growled when he felt Forstand attempting to break through his shields. The fool. He knew how to deal with telepaths. Even as Yohji finished off Mouche and Manchu readied his throwing stars, the precog was dropping his shields, drawing the telepath in, trapping him.

A sudden idea flared in Aya's mind. What she was doing wasn't working. But perhaps…if instead of throwing one emotion, over and over again, getting stronger each time…

Forstand screamed as the precog's Sight ripped through him. He was trapped, trapped in Crawford's head and his Sight was overwhelming him. The past…the future…they were one. But they weren't. They were different, they were the same...voices returned, Crawford was practically screaming at him. Math equations, snippets of poetry, history, tactics…_it was all there…_

Voodoo gasped, the Haitian's body jerking as though the rapid fire emotions slammed into him over and over again. _Painhappinesshateirritationnauseajoysadnesslaughter…_he couldn't reflect this. _There was too much. He couldn't catch it all, reflect it all_.

The bullet that left Brad's gun ripped through Forstand's frontal lobe, piercing his forehead and mangling the grey matter contained within the skull.

Another bullet shattered the Haitian's vertebrae, passing through the spinal cord and leaving a gaping hole in the front of his throat. The head lurched forward, hanging on by the tendons and the tendons alone.

Apollo launched streams of fire at young Prodigy. He could hear Manchu's attack on Siberian, Mouche taunting Balinese and Forstand's bitter laughter as he launched his mental assault on Oracle. The kinetic threw up shields, blocking the fire. A wave of kinetic energy rushed towards Apollo and a shield of fire absorbed the energy.

One of the four grunts following Apollo and Dingo swung away from the group, launching himself at Bombay. One dart hit the grunt in the leg, another in the throat and the third and final dart piercing the grunt's heart.

Omi shot forward, his vision filled only with the grunt rushing towards him, a hulking juggernaut more than twice his size. The three darts he'd grabbed from his dart board flew straight and true, knocking the grunt flat. Leaping onto the massive chest, Omi wrapped strong hands around the trunk-like throat and began to squeeze.

Farfarello launched himself out of the dining room, a warping war cry echoing loudly as he attacked the three remaining grunts. The one closest to him fell before he realized he was under attack. The remaining pair exchanged a glance, readying themselves for the fight of their lives.

Dingo laughed in a shrill voice. He had the two telepaths pinned. Silly people, didn't they realize that there wasn't a telepath out there that could defeat his empathic powers?

Apollo heard Berserker's attack, heard the grunt fall. He shifted his weight slightly, launching an enormous fireball at the Irish man.

The wave of burning, smothering heat swept over Farfarello, it seared the skin and hair on his arm filling the air with the stench of charred flesh. He jumped back as the intense light blinded him and the heat threatened to overtake him.

When Apollo began to attack Far, Nagi realized the moment had come. He _pushed, pushed with everything he had_ and seized the Greek pyro, slamming him into the half-wall separating the dining room from the landing and pushing him head over heals into the heavy table.

The sudden crack of a gun drew the kinetics attention. His head snapped around and he saw a grunt raising a gun at Brad, a look of pure hatred on his face. Nagi lashed out, seizing the grunt and crushing him utterly.

Apollo staggered to his feet, abandoning his attack on Berserker and renewing his fight against Prodigy. Even as he launched another burning fireball, he saw it. His way out of the hellhole this attack had become.

Aya's face had contorted into a frightening snarl. How dare they! How dare Esset attack her family! Voodoo's head was slumping forward, the body falling to the floor as she sprang to her feet and ran towards the stairs.

Ran struggled to hold on, to remain himself under the relentless empathic assault.

Nagi swore, using every word he had learned from Schu that he wasn't supposed to know. Apollo had grabbed Schu, an arm wrapped around the German's throat, causing the skin to redden and blister. Any attack he threw at the Esset agent caused Apollo to inflict further harm to the German.

Schuldig's world had become one of pain. Dingo's relentless attack made it impossible for him to block out the pain of Apollo's fire. Any attention diverted to his burning flesh let Dingo in further. Bit by bit, he was losing. He couldn't fight both.

Dingo's voice suddenly rose above all the remaining noise in the Koneko. _HatehatehatehaterageFEARragereageFEARragehateragehateFEARrage…_

Her eyes gleaming with cold satisfaction, Aya took every emotion Yohji had produced earlier, at the meeting where they had first learned of the threat, and threw it at Dingo. She threw it and more. All the rage, all the hate, all the fear she was feeling at this _attack on her family, her worst nightmare_ slammed into the Australian empath. She threw it over and over and over again, amplifying it, multiplying it over and over and over again…

Nagi used Dingo's distraction to finished off the remaining two grunts huddled in front of the stairs, crushing their throats and clearing the way for Farfarello to take out Dingo.

The Irish man staggered to his feet, his single eyes gleaming like a wolf's as he drew two long, wicked knives. The blade in the right hand pierced the sternum, ripping upwards as the left blade tore through Dingo's throat, nicking the collar bone.

The moment Dingo's attack faltered, Ran ripped his mind free and took stock of the situation. Clutching the knife Farfarello had passed him on the way down the stairs, he teleported behind Apollo. He jammed the blade in at the base of the spine and ripped straight up. Apollo howled in pain briefly before Ran whipped the knife around slitting his throat. Both wounds poured blood and Ran released his grip allowing the body to crash to the floor.

For a moment, there was pure silence.

The attack was over.

* * *

_We would very much appreciate reviews for this chapter…_

_And if you don't review, we're letting Yohji, or should we say, Balinese, loose again._

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	3. Winter of Discontent

**Improbability Factor: Chapter Three – Winter of Discontent**

_By Ptath and Thalia _

_Beta-ed by Thalia_

_Inspired and assisted by Lady Raina_

_**Disclaimer**: We do not own Weiss. Even if we could, simple self-preservation would dictate we stay far, far away. _

'This' mean thinking to one's self ('Time to introduce myself')

'_This' means talking telepathically ('hello, my name is George,')_

"This" _means talking out loud _("I like cats.")

* * *

**FARFARELLO SAY: CHERISH HOME AND FAMILY AS A SPECIAL TREASURE**

* * *

**Koneko, 3:27 am**

Birman snapped her phone shut and walked back towards Crawford, who was standing near his office. "I just spoke with Queen," she said in a crisp voice. "Crashers will be waiting for you at Saito Mansion."

Brad nodded slightly. "Very well." He looked out at the ruined second floor and the Kritiker agents collecting bodies and cleaning up. "What do you intend to do with the Esset team?" he asked in a casual voice.

"Disposal," Birman replied, her voice dry. "We certainly don't need to do an autopsy."

"If I may," Brad murmured, still looking at the cleaning crew, "would Kritiker permit me to dispose of the bodies? I believe I am in possession of a very effective method."

Birman raised a curious eyebrow. When no explanation was forthcoming, she nodded. "I believe that can be arranged."

"Their vehicles are nearby," the precog continued. "Most likely within two blocks. A white van or surveillance vehicle, as well as some regular forms of transportation."

"I'll get someone on it at once," Birman agreed. She turned to a passing agent and gave a quick order. After the agent disappeared downstairs, she turned back and studied the weary assassins.

Ran and Schuldig were sitting side-by-side on the floor leaning up against the half-wall separating the hallway and the dining room. Schuldig's burns had been carefully treated by a worried Aya and the German now sat with his eyes more than half-closed as he slumped against Ran. Both telepaths were still struggling to rebuild their mental shields from Dingo's powerful attack, but were further hindered by their own exhaustion. Luckily, Brad had extended his own mental shields to encompass the two telepaths, giving them both the time and quiet required to recuperate and rebuild. Both were careful to keep their feet out from under the cleaning crew's as they walked back and forth between the battle sites and the stairs.

Yohji and Ken were seated at the dining room table. Yohji's shoulder had been carefully bandaged and the blonde was now concentrating on making certain that Ken stayed awake. Concussions were not to be taken lightly.

Aya had moved on and was now treating Farfarello's burns at the buffet table where the Irish man was perched.

Nagi, Omi and Sakura had tucked themselves just inside the entrance to the kitchen, out of the way but still observing everything.

"I'll give you a call when the repairs to the Koneko are complete," Birman said as the last of the bodies were carried out. "Until then, stay at Saito Mansion. Send Crashers on any errands that need to be run. We don't need Esset to find you again and blow up more buildings."

Walking towards the stairs, Birman paused when she reached the kitchen. She gave the trio of teenagers a stern look. "Kritiker will need a full explanation of how this attack occurred as soon as possible. Blowing the front entrance is one thing. Rappelling down to the second floor is another. I think you should know that as the active technical personnel for Schatten, you will be held responsible for any breaches in the security."

Birman gave them another careful look, taking in the flickers of exhaustion, anger and worry that crept out from behind closed expressions. "For what it's worth," she added dryly, "Happy Birthday, Nagi."

Sakura's eyes went wide. "Oh," she exclaimed, pushing the security issues to one side. "That's right, it's your birthday today, isn't it?"

"Technically, it was yesterday," Nagi said with some embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized. "This must have been the worst birthday ever." She reached out and enfolded Nagi in a fierce hug. "We'll make it up to you, I promise."

On the floor, Schuldig's eyes drifted open when a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure flowed out of Nagi. The corners of his mouth twitched when he saw how red Nagi's face had turned when Sakura had glomped him. Beside him, eyes still shut, Ran gave the German a quick elbow. Not hard, but enough to get his attention.

'_Leave them alone,'_ Ran silently sent.

'_But there's so much potential,'_ the German whined.

'_Yes, potential for Nagi to twist you into all sorts of shapes if you embarrass him.'_

There was a long pause before Schuldig replied. _'Good point.'_

* * *

**Saito Mansion, 5 am**

Yuushi shut his mouth, biting back the teasing comment he'd been ready to unleash on his former teammate. Ran was dragging noticeably. He had dark circles under his eyes and an even darker look on his face. He and the German telepath were leaning on each other, as though supporting each other in ways beyond the mere physical.

Brad had an arm wrapped around Aya's shoulders, carefully guiding her along as she stumbled into the building. The dark circles under the precog's eyes were intensified by the slight shadow cast by his glasses, which were sitting slightly lower on his nose than usual.

Yohji, bandaged shoulder peeping out from his partially buttoned shirt, had a firm grasp on Ken's elbow. The soccer player's head turned slightly from side to side, a confused expression on his face as he tried to sort out what was going on. Yohji was fielding numerous questions, questions that were only partially formed and lost their point less than halfway through their conveyance.

Farfarello, despite the unsteadiness of his stride, walked closely behind Ken, determined to protect until he knew that Crashers was ready to take over.

Bringing up the rear, the three teenagers dragged along behind, their eyes struggling to remain open as they limped in through the doorway.

"We've set up extra cots," Reiichi suddenly said, his voice level and calm. "There are two in the Master bedroom, two in the first bedroom and one in the others."

"Thank you," Brad replied, manners still intact despite his exhaustion. He looked out over Schatten, quickly arranging the team. "Nagi, Omi and Sakura, please take the first bedroom. Yohji may have the second, Farfarello and Ken the third while Ran and Schu bunk in the Master bedroom."

"Sounds good to me," Yohji agreed. Tugging Ken's arm, he pulled the soccer player towards Crashers. "Here you go," he said, grinning slightly. "Special delivery."

At Crashers's confused look, Ken spoke haltingly. "Concussion," he slurred. "Need to . . ., uh . . ., stay . . .awake."

Naru's young face immediately turned sympathetic. "Come with me," he said reaching out to grab Ken's hand. "We'll talk in the kitchen."

* * *

**Saito Mansion, Living Room, Same Day, 8 pm**

'It's time we sent a message," Brad stated gravely. "We are on a mission, and we only have eleven hours to accomplish it."

"What are…" Ken began, his voice trailing off as he struggled for the rest of the words.

"I think he means 'What are we doing?'" Yohji finished.

"We're introducing ourselves," Brad replied, a cool smirk crossing his face.

"To who?" Yohji asked, cautiously, silently dreading the answer.

"Esset."

Yohji stared at his leader for a moment. "Why?" he demanded, his voice incredulous.

"So when they see us the next time, they will know us as their executioners." He paused for a moment, taking in the looks of realization that crossed the faces of Schatten. "Now," he began again, speaking rather rapidly, "we don't have much time. Nagi, Omi, and Sakura, I need you to secure all the evidentiary photographs taken by Kritiker last night of the Esset team's bodies, set up a broadcast room in here. Give me a list of everything you need and you will have it. Ran, Aya and I will clear everything out. Also, you will need to set up a direct feed to the Vlad base."

"What?" Nagi and Schu both chorused.

"What's Vlad base?" Ran asked, concern etching his features.

"Esset Main Headquarters, THE Headquarters," Schu answered.

"But Brad . . ." Nagi began.

"Just do it." Brad commanded. "And don't get caught," he added a bit softer.

"Yes sir." Nagi replied simply.

"Schu, Yohji, and Far, Masato will take you to get the bodies of the Esset agents and their vehicles. After you've done that you will meet up at a rendezvous that has already been decided with Yuushi and Naru to receive explosives that they have already gone to retrieve. You will then head to the mansion where Schreient kept Masafumi's body and held Aya."

"You mean the one that Nagi brought down?" Schu asked.

"Yes, nobody noticed the implosion, so nobody should notice an explosion. Ran will meet you up there to assist in setting up the explosives and bring you all back. Sakura, you will go with Ran to film the explosion and return with the footage."

"What . . ." Ken started.

"What about Ken," Yohji finished for his friend.

Brad looked Ken in the eye, "You are of no use to us in your condition. I know you want to help, but the best way you can do that is to rest and stay out of the way. We will need you in the end."

Ken nodded that he understood, and Brad turned back to the others.

"Alright people, we are on a truncated time table here and we've wasted enough time. Commence phase one."

**8:10 pm**

* * *

**Esset, Main Headquarters, Vlad the Impaler Base, Carpathian Mts., 00:00 hrs, **

"Sir, we're receiving a transmission."

"From who?" the chief of communications demanded.

Before any answer could be given, the officer who had picked up the transmission sent the image to the main screen.

"Welcome," boomed the voice of Brad Crawford, former leader of Esset's most powerful field team, the Oracle himself. "I see that at last you have chosen to exact vengeance, but I must say that this was a most unwise decision."

A backlight appeared, revealing nine more people. Like Oracle, all were clad in pure black. The glint of steel was prevalent under the lighting as swords, claws and guns all glinted at the camera. Prodigy's eyes glowed in an unearthly manner and the others around him had death in their eyes. It was quite possibly the most terrifying display anyone in the room had ever witnessed.

"As you can see this was clearly a mistake as we have grown in strength and numbers. We destroyed the Elders and rest assured that after your most foolish attempt to eliminate us your fate will be the same. I am here to present to you the first of many defeats you can expect to suffer. We are Schatten and we will destroy you."

As Oracle finished his speech the front light faded out leaving a mere silhouette of the team before the camera. Slowly, _Lux Aeterna_, rose quietly and as one, voices rose reciting this:

_For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,_

_And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;_

_And the eyes of the sleeper wax'd deadly and chill,_

_And their hearts but once heaved and for ever grew still!_

The light blinked out and the music grew louder as pictures of the mutilated bodies of the agents that had been sent to kill them flashed rapidly across the screen and finally the whole of the Communications Division looked on, mesmerized by the scene that played out before them. The bodies in the Esset vehicles, the vehicles, the frame lit up with a flash of brilliance and a shattering boom, static.

"Sir, the feed was cut."

"Well, find it damn it!"

"We can't sir, it's gone."

"Where was it coming from?" The chief communications officer demanded.

"I'm afraid we were unable to trace it, sir."

The room was silent.

* * *

**Saito Mansion, Library, 7:13 am**

"Sakura, were we traced?" Brad asked as the screens went dark.

"Of course not," the teenager replied in a smug voice. "I learned from the best, after all."

"We didn't do that much," Omi protested, a grin on his face. "She knew almost everything she needed to know already."

"Even better," replied Brad in satisfaction. "Nagi?"

"The transmission was a success," the kinetic replied. "Everything's green."

"Good, get some rest," Brad ordered.

"Can't," Omi replied mournfully, "we still need to get a report into Kritiker about the attack."

The precog sighed softly before nodding. "Very well," he said. "You've been up all night, so try to get some rest at some point."

The three hackers watched Brad's departure silently. Nagi reached out with his powers and shut the door behind him.

"What if we find something?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"Then we tell Kritiker," Omi sighed. "And I take the blame."

"What?" Nagi demanded. "We can't let you do that! All we have to do is tell Brad and this goes away!"

"No," Omi said sharply, "it doesn't work like that. I'm the senior agent. I've been with Kritiker longer than anyone else and I know how these things work. If anyone's to take that blame, it's me. Besides," he added, "I'm the most valuable. They can't do too much to me. And Brad and Ran won't do anything to me, and they won't let Kritiker do anything, to any of us." He gave the others a stern look. "Let's get to work."

Several hours later, Nagi leaned back. "It was a fluke," he said in a disbelieving voice. "A one in ten-million chance."

"So," Sakura finally said, cutting through the silence, "we're in the clear. Nobody gets blamed for anything."

"Not this time anyway." Nagi said. "But what if something had been wrong with the security? I think we need a better plan than Omi taking the fall in case anything ever does go wrong."

"I second the motion," Sakura stated.

"This is not a democracy," Omi said.

"That may be true," Sakura said tightly, her temper starting to fray, "but we have to find a way to take away some of Kritiker's power over us. We were the ones that got attacked, but instead of being given the time we need to recuperate, we have been threatened and bullied over a possible breach in our security. Granted, had it been a failure in our system it needed to be found and fixed, but this isn't right."

Nagi spoke up. "She's right Omi. I mean this feels like being with Esset again. That's not right."

With dawning realization, Omi knew they were right. "Alright," he conceded, "we will work something out . . . _after_ we sleep."

"Agreed," said the other two teens in unison.

* * *

**Koneko, Over One Month Later, December 23, Ken's Birthday, 3:12 pm**

Aya made an irked noise as she stood looking into the fridge.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"We're out of milk and I need to finish Ken's cake," Aya stated in irritated exasperation.

"I'll run down to the corner market and get some."

* * *

**Koneko, 20 minutes later**

Yohji hurried into the sitting room where Ran and Schu were. "Have you seen Sakura," he asked urgently.

Both shook their heads. Kudoh turned and went into the kitchen, his movements frantic. "Aya, have you seen Sakura?"

"Yes, she went to get some milk for me."

She had barely finished her sentence before he was out the door and running upstairs. Less than a minute later he was coming back down again in his jacket with car keys clutched tightly in his hand. By now, Ran and Schu had picked up on the fact that something was more than just a little wrong.

"Yohji, what's wrong?" Ran asked.

"Sakura's in trouble."

"What? Did she call you?" Schu queried.

"No, I just know something's wrong, really wrong."

"Okay, just stay put for a minute and let me see if I can find her." The German reached out with his mind and quickly found her very near to the Koneko and in danger... "She's in the alley."

"Okay, I'm going down and out the back. Will you guys go out the front and circle around so the exits are cut off?" Yohji called over his shoulder as he ran down to the garage.

"Or we could just teleport," Ran murmured as he grabbed Schuldig's arm.

* * *

**Alley Behind the Koneko**

As soon as he exited the building Kudoh spotted the problem. Sakura had been backed up against the outer wall of the Koneko by a gang of street thugs. White liquid coated the ground around her feet where she had dropped the milk she had just recently purchased, and she was very calmly trying to talk her way out of her very precarious situation.

"Look, I live right here," she said pointing to the Koneko, "all I have to do is scream."

"You live in a flower shop," the leader of the gang scoffed. "I'm no genius but I'm pretty sure flowers don't have ears, sweet thing."

"No, but I do." Yohji said in a foreboding voice as he materialized out of the shadows.

The group looked up, startled by the appearance of another person. The leader recovered quickly. "Oh yeah, what ya gonna do?" the boy sneered.

Suddenly, an extremely livid Balinese surfaced, eyes flashing dangerously.

All the other members of the gang had the good sense to take a few steps away from Sakura, but the leader held his ground as he possessed all the undesirable qualities of your average teenage boy: arrogant, cocky, brash, extraordinarily stupid, and irritating as all hell.

"I think I'll dispose of you and rid society of a burden since you seem to have outlived your usefulness." The assassin growled out bearing his teeth in a cold smile.

"You don't have the guts to ice me old man."

Balinese stepped forward as his gaze approached absolute zero.

At the movement, the boy grabbed Sakura and yanked her around in front of him, so they were facing the tall blonde while simultaneously pulling a switchblade which he placed next to her throat.

Everybody froze.

The assassin snarled, "Get your dirty hands off her, you filthy, pimply-faced weasel."

The gang leader pressed the blade further into her flesh drawing the faintest hints of blood. Sakura whimpered slightly. "Now you see what your nasty name-calling made me do? You really shouldn't do that. In fact, if you want your bitch back in one piece then I think you had better let me put my hands wherever I want." He started to finger her shoulder with his free hand.

'_He said hands off!'_ Came the silent command.

The gang noticed the two telepaths that had been closing in on the scene for the first time. The leader took no heed however. Sure, that took their opposition from one to three, but they still had them outnumbered two to one. And his people were armed unlike these people. At least, this is what he assumed.

Both Ran and Schu picked up on this. They leveled equal-force death glares at the group that was standing to the side and gave the command in unison: _'LEAVE!'_ Instantly the boys scattered. Three cleared out all together while two hovered at the far end of the alley in order to ascertain the fate of their leader whom they had just abandoned.

Despite being abandoned, the leader never faltered. He knew that none of them would do anything that would bring harm to the girl. In fact, while his gang had been fleeing, he had had the presence of mind to pivot himself and the girl so that none of her protectors were positioned behind him.

"Come now gentlemen, I just want to play with your toy. I'm sure your mothers all taught you how to share." As Sakura's assailant began to run his hand across her body, she cringed.

In an instant, Balinese was on top of the pair, carefully ripping Sakura out of the hood's arms pushing her towards the two telepaths and safety. He hurled the boy into the opposite alley wall. The teenager hit with a solid thud and then fell to the ground in a stunned heap. Just as he was regaining the ability to breath, he felt a cold wire envelop his throat and began to choke away his life.

Pulling the wire tight, the assassin leaned in towards the subject of his ire so that their faces were only inches apart.

"You shouldn't have touched her."

The gang leader could feel his blood freezing in his veins as Balinese's frightening tone sent a chill down his spine, and the look in his eyes hammered home a revelation: he was going to die. All at once, the blood drained from his face. His soon-to-be killer just smiled.

"Yohji," Sakura said softly as she tugged at his jacket sleeve.

Yohji looked over at the girl.

"Yohji, please don't hurt him."

He hesitated for a moment, torn between his need to avenge her and her request.

"Look, I'm fine, see. Please let him go, Yotan. Please."

Kudoh, unable to withstand Sakura's pleas, released his captive who immediately started gasping for air. When he was sure the gang leader had caught his breath enough to speak, Yohji hauled him up by his collar and shoved him up against the wall pinning him in place with a look that was colder and more deadly than the ninth circle of hell.

"Thanks to her, you get to live. Congratulations, you owe her your life." At this point he shifted into his deadliest assassin voice. "But rest assured if I ever catch you or any of your gang hanging around here or if I find out you have so much as looked at her wrong, I will not hesitate to slit your throat, drain your blood, and drink it like a nice Chardonnay. And next time, there will be nothing that will save your ass. Do you understand me?"

The now very frightened teenager gave a shaky nod. "Yes, sir," he stammered out.

"Good," the tall blonde said sharply. "Now get!"

After being dropped to the ground, the boy dashed to the opening of the alley and disappeared around the corner.

As Yohji turned to face the others, Sakura wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Thank you."

"Only for you," he replied as he returned the embrace. "Only for you."

* * *

**Brad's Office, 4:08 pm**

Before Schu knew what had happened, he and Ran were staring at the door to Brad's office.

"Weren't we just in the alley?" he asked carefully.

"You have to ask?" Ran inquired with a raised brow.

"Fine," Schu huffed. "Why are we standing in front of Brad's office door?"

"To tell him what just happened."

"We couldn't walk?"

Ran gave Schuldig a reproving look and opened the door, not bothering to knock. "Something interesting just happened," he said blandly as he strolled in.

"Really," Brad replied, slightly disgruntled at the blatant invasion.

"A gang of street thugs jumped Sakura in the alley behind the Koneko," Ran continued. "Somehow, Yohji knew something was wrong and saved her." He paused for a moment, giving Brad a thoughtful look. "He would have killed the leader if she hadn't stopped him."

Brad set his pen down on the papers he'd been reviewing and leaned back in his chair. "Why aren't Yohji and Sakura telling me this?" he asked. "And just where are they at the moment?"

"Aya still needs milk," Schuldig stated matter-of-factly as he dropped in a chair. Seeing Brad's blank look, the German continued. "Aya's baking a cake for Ken's birthday. The thugs broke the bottle Sakura had just bought. She insisted that she needed to go get another one. Yohji insisted on going with her."

"To protect her from the killer vegetables Far worries about so much, no doubt," Ran murmured.

"The interesting thing," Schu continued, ignoring the other red-head's mutterings, "is _how_ Yohji saved her."

"What, did he suddenly whip out a cape and tights?" Brad demanded, his voice a bit testy.

"Hardly," Ran snorted. "There were no telephone booths nearby."

Schuldig turned to give Ran a stern look. "You brought us here. Are you going to continue making random comments or are you actually going to participate in this conversation in a constructive fashion?"

"I'm impressed," Ran mused, eyes glinting slightly. "You're doing well, so please, continue."

"Please do," Brad added. "I doubt I'll have such a serious conversation with you again for quite some time. Please allow me to enjoy the moment."

The German gave them both a flat look. "You're both hypocrites," he snapped. "Yohji moved almost too fast to see. He moved faster than _I _can. Last time I checked, he couldn't do that."

"His Talent," Ran suddenly said, sitting up straight.

"Welcome to the land of the living," Schuldig snapped again. "Finally ready to reveal the oh-so-complex idea that has been stewing in that strange mind of yours?"

"Don't be petty," Ran murmured with a reproving look. He looked back at Brad. "When we were testing everyone for Talent, both Yohji and Sakura's tests revealed that they had an unidentifiable Talent."

"You think Yohji's Talent is finally beginning to emerge," Brad stated.

"That's the only thing it could be," Ran agreed.

"Couldn't it have been a temporal anomaly? You know, some random fluxuation in the space-time continuum that just happened to manifest itself at that moment?"

Brad stared at the German in mild astonishment. "Why didn't you tell me you'd found Star Trek reruns?" he asked in a slightly hurt voice.

"What?"

"And you complain about Nagi rubbing off on me?" Ran demanded.

"What?" Schuldig said defensively. "It could be a temporal anomaly!"

"Really, Schu," Ran scolded. "What are the odds of that?"

* * *

**Koneko, Dining Room, 6:48 pm**

Schuldig raised his glass, saluting the birthday boy. "Congratulations, Ken," he said in a merry voice. "You're finally old enough to buy alcohol in America."

"Gee, thanks" Ken replied dryly, raising his own glass in return.

The German gave him a wide grin before turning to Yohji. "So, Yotan, why don't you tell us how you did that trick in the alley earlier?"

Far looked up in alarm. "You mean to tell me that our infamous playboy has been reduced to turning tricks in the alley?"

"What? No!" Yohji exclaimed. "I was just…uh…" The blonde paused, a slightly confused look crossing his face. He turned to Schuldig. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sakura?" Ran asked, turning to the brunette girl.

"What?" she asked. "I didn't notice anything strange."

There was an odd pause, one that no one seemed willing to break.

"You mean you didn't notice how fast Yohji moved to get the thug with the knife at your throat away from you?" Ran asked incredulously.

"What?" Nagi exclaimed. "What the hell happened?"

"It's my fault," Aya said apologetically. "I had run out of milk and Sakura offered to get me more."

"Milk," Nagi repeated.

"From what I was able to gather from a very strange meeting," Brad began, giving Ran and Schuldig a side look. "A gang of street thugs jumped Sakura in the alley on her return from the corner market where she had purchased milk. Yohji stopped them."

"Well, that's the short version," Yohji muttered.

"Would you care to give us the long version?" Brad asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not really."

"So what did you and Schu see?" Omi asked Ran, desperately trying to drag the conversation back on track.

"Yohji moved faster than Schu when someone's threatening his coffee," Ran replied.

"Hey!"

"Focus!" Ken exclaimed. He gave them all an exasperated look. "My god, you people are worse than my soccer team! And they're twelve!"

"Ran and our Great Leader here think Yohji's Talent is emerging," Schuldig said. "I think it was a temporal anomaly."

"A temporal…" Nagi murmured, his brow furrowing slightly. What did that remind him of? His head shot up. "Like how Sakura and I managed to walk so far last month before the attack? As if we were suddenly moving much faster than everyone else?"

"Exactly," Schuldig agreed. He blinked. "Wait, what?"

Ran pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Their print-outs showed an identical Talent," he mused.

"Hey, still in the room," Yohji interrupted indignantly.

Ignoring the outburst, Ran turned to Brad. "Is there a Talent that affects time?" he demanded.

"Not that I have ever heard of," Brad replied. "But anything's possible with this group."

"So you're saying that…Yohji and I can affect time and that Esset has never witnessed this type of Talent before?" Sakura asked, her eyes widening.

"Pretty much," Omi muttered, his mind flickering back to all the files he'd read on Talents. "Pretty much."

* * *

**Koneko, Sitting Room, Christmas Eve, 11:29 pm**

"Wait," Ken asked in confusion, "you actually _like_ Christmas?"

"Of course," Far replied patiently. "Scrooges, parents brawling over the latest hit toys, Major Corporations rolling in money as they commercialize what is supposed to be a sacred religious holiday, the greed in children's eyes as they wander hungrily through the massive toy stores. Then there's the Grinch, he's my favorite. He got it wrong at the end though, Christmas doesn't come without ribbons or tags, packages, boxes or bags. That is the only way Christmas comes. It truly is an amazing holiday."

"Here, Brad," Aya said proudly as she handed him the star for the tree she'd found. "You do the honors."

The American gave her a smile as he took the golden star. Turning, he walked over to the tree.

Nagi watched him, a bemused expression on his face. Sakura nudged him with her elbow. "What's the tree for, again?" she asked softly. "And the star?"

"It's a Christian tradition," he murmured back. "I don't know where it came from."

"All done," Aya beamed when the star was in place. "Someone hit the lights!"

"Yeah, Mr. Gestalt, hit the lights," Schuldig called.

Ran gave him a sly look. "You're closer," he shot back.

"Actually, I am," Ken corrected in amusement. He reached over and flicked the switch, turning the lights to the sitting room (and most of the second floor) off.

"And now for the tree lights," Aya continued.

"Wait!" Schuldig suddenly shouted. Everyone froze. "Nobody move!"

In the dark, no one could see where the German ran off to. They could hear him run downstairs and then run back up. Nagi and Sakura jumped when they felt him moving behind them in the dining room. There was some brief hammering…

"Aya doesn't like holes in her walls."

"Shut up, Far," the German muttered. Finally, he spoke again. "All right, now you can turn them on," he said.

The lights to the tree came on, filling the room with a warm glowing light.

"Look up, chibis," Schuldig teased.

Nagi and Sakura, seated on the half-wall between the dining and sitting rooms, looked up. Their faces turned bright red when they spotted a sprig of mistletoe nailed into the ceiling.

Grins broke out throughout the room when the rest of Schatten realized the two teenagers' plight. Several moments passed, a feeling of expectation running through the room.

"What are you waiting for," Omi teased.

Nagi shot him a deadly look, a silent promise of pain, retribution…and a returned Christmas present. Cheeks still red, he glanced over at Sakura. He hesitated, seeing the shy embarrassment on her face, before finally leaning over and quickly kissing her cheek. "Merry Christmas," he said softly.

Sakura gave him a timid smile, and suddenly drawing up her courage, leaned over and kissed him full on the lips. She smiled as she pulled away. "Merry Christmas to you, too," she murmured.

"My god, could you be anymore sappy," Schuldig muttered in mock disgust as he walked into the sitting room.

* * *

**Koneko, Sitting Room, Christmas Day, 10:30 am**

Aya gleefully ripped the wrapping paper of her brother's present. There was a time to take care and admire precision in its highest form. That was not now. "Thank you, Ran," she beamed when she beheld the art supplies that lay in the ruined paper. "I was running out." She turned and grinned at Brad. "Your turn," she laughed.

The precog picked up the only present he hadn't been able to _see_. "I despise you," he said conversationally as he pulled the paper open. "Every other year, I've been able to see if I would have to exchange something."

"Shut up and feel the joy of Christmas," Aya replied smugly. "I can't help it if you don't like surprises."

Brad gave her a long look and then motioned his head towards Schuldig and Farfarello. He swore silently when his wife merely laughed.

"Come on, Brad," the German called.

Finally, the precog opened the small package. Inside lay a sturdy, yet elegant watch. A flicker of amusement crossed his face. No wonder he'd been unable to _see_ when he was going to get the battery in his old one replaced.

"Now you have no excuse for losing time," Aya said calmly. "Except for visions, naturally."

"You mean the ones you let through."

"Of course."

Sakura grinned as the married couple continued to mock-bicker back and forth. She studied the round box Yohji had given her. Judging by the fancy silver bow, he'd gotten it gift wrapped at whatever place he'd bought the present in. It had a distinctly feminine touch. Once the paper was discarded, she opened the box to reveal a light blue cabbie hat.

"Try it on," Yohji urged, his voice oddly intense. Once Sakura had pulled it on, Yohji smiled. "It's perfect," he murmured, a smile spreading across his face and eyes glistening.

Ken watched for a moment before leaning over towards Omi. "Ten to one that hat involves Auska," he muttered.

"No bet," Omi replied.

Farfarello ripped through the wrapping paper faster than Aya had hers. He grinned and laughed when he beheld a magnetic dartboard and darts. "No holes," he said with a grin.

"And now you can throw things at your own door," Omi agreed.

Ken laughed along with everyone else, remembering how Far had "borrowed" Omi's dartboard. He reached down and picked up a small box. The gift tag said that it was from Far. He tore off the paper, revealing a small jewelry box. The contents shocked him. He stared at it for a moment before transferring his stunned gaze to Far. "A cross?" he asked in surprise.

"To help protect you from Murphy," the Irish man said seriously. "And anything else that would cause you harm."

The solemn mood lasted for a few moments before Aya nudged her brother, eager to get the gift reveals going again. He carefully began to unwrap the present she'd given him, determined to drag it out as long as possible. Finally, after several minutes of picking at the tape (what had she used, glue? And seeing Yohji pretending to drown himself in the small pile of wrapping paper had NOT been amusing).

"Nagi, if he's not done in the next thirty seconds, I release you."

Ran's lips quirked. "Gotcha," he smirked. With that, he ripped the last of the paper off. Opening the box that now sat on his lap, his eyes widened. Reaching down he began to carefully thumb through the pile of Batman comic books. "This is every special edition they made," he murmured in surprise.

"You better believe they are," Aya said swatting her brother's head.

"My turn," Schuldig proclaimed as he began to grapple with the largish box from Ran. "Ok," he began as he studied the contents. "The coffee I understand. But why _two _grinders?"

"One for here, one for the Villa," Ran replied. Yohji began to howl, remembering, as they all did, the blender/coffee incident.

Omi was still laughing as he unwrapped his own present from Ran. When he saw what lay inside, he squealed. When Nagi saw it, he also squealed. Sakura rolled her eyes. "Seasons one and two of Red vs. Blue!" he proclaimed happily as he launched himself at Ran in a flying glomp.

"What's Red vs. Blue?" Ken asked in confusion.

"I'll put in on later," Omi said absently as he climbed off Ran to go hug the DVDs to his chest. "I think it'll speak for itself."

Sakura shook her head in amusement. Omi was one of the few people who could get away with glomping Ran. She studied the gift Nagi had given her with curiosity. She could feel a spine on one side and the edges of pages on the other. Obviously, it was some kind of book. A rather large and oddly shaped one at that. Tearing off the paper, she was surprised to see a photo album. She glanced up for a moment before looking back down and opening the album. After a page or two, tears appeared in her eyes and slowly began to fall down her cheeks.

"Nagi, you weren't supposed to make her cry," Schuldig hissed at the now-panicking kinetic.

"Sakura, is everything ok?" Aya asked gently.

Sakura glanced up, a smile shining through the tears. "Everything's just fine," she said, her voice strong. Reaching over to Nagi she wrapped an arm around his waist and gave him a tight hug. The other arm carefully clutched the album full of pictures of her, her mother and her father to her chest.

Far grasped the box Ken had given him and used his nails to cut through the tape holding the paper together. Opening the white box, he let out a loud whoop of surprise.

Yohji groaned and let his head fall to his hands. "A soccer jersey?" he demanded. "You couldn't think of anything better?"

"I like it," Far said defensively. "Now I have something to wear to practice."

"Yeah, well, watch out. Next time he might get you a 'Kiss me, I'm Irish' shirt."

"I'll be sure to wear that one around you," Far replied.

Nagi shook his head as Far began to lean towards Yohji, as though trying to kiss him. He tore through the paper and cheered (echoed by Omi) when he beheld seasons three and four of Red vs. Blue. No more needed to be said.

Aya grinned happily and pulled the ribbon off the present Brad had given her. Once the paper was gone and the lid opened, her eyebrows shot towards her hairline. Brad blinked when she gave him a startled look. Ran looked distinctly irked, and possibly nauseated.

"What?" he demanded. Aya handed over the piece of wrapping paper that held the gift tag.

"To Aya, from…" Brad's voice trailed off and he took a closer look at the handwriting. "Schuldig," he growled, "What do you think you are doing giving my wife a _black, lace teddy signed under my name_."

A hiss escaped Ran as the red-head turned towards the German.

Schu's eyes had gone wide when he saw the anger burning in both their eyes.

Brad began to rise and Ran turned until he was facing Schuldig.

"How in the world did you know my size," Aya asked in an oddly pleased voice as she studied the teddy.

Schu bolted, only to find Ran had teleported in front of him. Swinging around, he found Brad standing behind him with his arms crossed and glasses flashing dangerously.

"Oh, sit down, both of you," Aya insisted as she tucked the…garment….away. "We are no where near done with presents."

The indignant men grumbled slightly but obeyed. Schuldig eyed the other telepath and decided to switch to the other side of Yohji…far from Ran.

"Brad, sweetness," Aya continued, "where is your present for me?"

Brad gave Schuldig another dark look before rising and striding towards his office, his black robe swishing about his ankles. After a moment inside, he returned, hands behind his back. As he passed Sakura, he heard her squeal "How sweet!"

"Ooo," Aya cooed when Brad carefully deposited an orange kitten in her lap. She picked it up and cuddled her close. "Wait," she suddenly said, a slight frown appearing on her face. "Aren't you allergic to cats?"

"Anti-histamines," Brad said shortly. "Just keep her out of my office and the bedroom."

"I will," Aya promised. "She is very sweet. I shall name her Hiro."

"Sweetheart," Brad began, a hint of concern in his voice. "It's a girl cat. Not a boy."

Her head snapped up. "Yes, well, my brother walked around for what, one, two years calling himself Aya and no one ever said anything, did they?"

"Not to his face," Ken admitted.

Ran gave Ken a look, then transferred that look to the long, tube-like gift Schuldig had deposited on his lap earlier. The paper was heavy, more suited to shipping than Christmas. After tearing the paper away, he could only blink in surprise and confusion. "Forgive me for stating the obvious, but it's a sword."

"It's Batman's sword," Schuldig corrected.

Ran looked up. "What?"

"Batman's. From the movie, "Batman Begins"? It's the one Christian Bale used."

"What?" Ran exclaimed eyes widening as he gave the sheathed sword another look. "How did you get this?"

"I have connections," the German drawled. After a look from Ran, he added, "legal ones."

"Schu," he murmured, "it's too much."

"Hey, you didn't kill me for the gag gift. I'd say we're even."

It took almost an hour to finish all the gifts. There were no more tears or near-death experiences, but there was laughter, teasing remarks and even the occasional cat-call.

Finally, Farfarello began to pull tissue paper out of the gift bag Sakura had given him, the last present from under the tree. His single eye went wide as he pulled out a soft, pink teddy bear, almost identical to the one she had lent to him months earlier. A soft, gentle smile crossed his face as he reached over and pulled Sakura off of Nagi's lap. Giving her a tight hug, he gave her a quick whispered "Thank you."

**Koneko, One week later, New Years Day**

* * *

Brad opened the back door just as the doorbell began to ring. He gave the two newcomers a smug smirk. "We've been expecting you," he said in a calm voice.

* * *

_And now, we would like to offer you, our readers, a **Challenge:**_

_What is up with Sakura and Yohji?_

_Emerging powers or temporal anomaly? We want your thoughts, your theories and your sudden realizations!_

_We end this chapter with a warning...Review! Or we may be forced to send out a transmission of our own!__  
_

_For author notes and reviewer responses, see our livejournal at http:// silvenstarlight . livejournal . com/ . Please visit our website at (note – best viewed with Internet Explorer)._


	4. Cauldron Bubble

**HEY! READERS! GUESS WHAT! BIG NEWS!**

_Now that we have your attention, we'd just like to let everyone know that email alerts are available for this story, as well as our others. Basically, if you will provide us with an email address and some kind of screen name, we will email you to notify you when we post an update. Please drop us a review or email us with the information. Thanks and enjoy the chapter!_

**Improbability Factor: Chapter Four – Cauldron Bubble**

_By Ptath and Thalia _

_Beta-ed by Thalia_

_Inspired and assisted by Lady Raina_

_**Disclaimer**: We do not own Weiss. Even if we could, simple self-preservation would dictate we stay far, far away. _

_**Rating alert:** This story is rated 'M' because of language and mature themes. Very mature themes. _

'This' mean thinking to one's self ('Time to introduce myself')

'_This' means talking telepathically ('hello, my name is George,')_

"This" _means talking out loud _("I like cats.")

* * *

**FARFARELLO SAY: A man can't be too careful in his choice of enemies.**

* * *

**Koneko, New Years Day, 3 pm**

Brad opened the back door just as the doorbell began to ring. He gave the two newcomers a smug smirk even as he gave them both a quick, evaluating look. "We've been expecting you," he said in a calm voice, silently pleased that they matched so closely to his visions.

The woman was tall, close to Schu and Ran's height. She had Schu's blue eyes and a delicate bone structure akin to Ran's. The auburn hair that cascaded down her back, however, was noticeably different from both telepaths.

Her companion topped her by a few inches, and would easily look the two Schatten telepaths in the eye. His lanky limbs were covered in comfortable, slightly wrinkled clothes. Dark blue eyes shone with intelligence, almost enough to hide the mischief that flickered in their depths. His hair, however, was what truly caught the eye. It was a deep, dark blue that fell across his face absently, silently defying all attempts to control it.

The woman gave Brad a haughty look. "That's impossible," she stated in a superior voice. "We defy all expectations."

"Charmed, I'm sure," Brad replied in a flat voice, a flicker of irritation crossing his face.

"Very charmed," the woman's companion replied cheekily. "If there's any more charm thrown around I'm going to end up throwing myself at your feet."

"My wife might take that the wrong way," the precog stated as he stepped back and began to lead the way further into the building.

"So offering to lick water off of you after your next bath is also out?"

Brad stumbled slightly and, after casting a startled look at the newcomer, decided to call for reinforcements.

'_Aya, Ran, could you please meet me on the second floor?' _

A few moments later, the trio reached the second floor. Aya and Ran were leaning against the wall of the kitchen. Upon seeing the newcomers, Aya let out a loud squeal and launched herself towards them.

"Toma!" she shrieked.

"Easy on the ears," the blue-haired man replied, a huge grin stretching across his face. He enfolded her into a hug and swung her around. "I missed you too," he laughed.

Ran merely shook his head. "What took you so long?" he demanded in mock irritation.

"Well, you see, I kinda got caught up in a few things. Had to rescue this girl and she was really demanding afterwards. Couldn't get a moment to myself after that!" Toma replied, casting a sly look at the auburn-haired woman standing next to him.

Said woman promptly slugged him in the arm. "I resemble that remark," she said tartly.

Toma merely laughed.

"So it seems," Brad muttered.

"Be nice," Aya insisted with a frown.

"She started it," grumbled the precog.

Aya gave him a _look_. "Quit being rude," she scolded. "And Toma, where are you manners?"

"Germany."

"My name is Shayna," the woman replied in a gracious voice as she simultaneously smacked Toma upside the head. "Don't talk back," she added, looking at her companion.

"It's very nice to meet you. My name is Crawford Aya," the empath replied, a smile spreading across her face.

"Fujimiya Ran," her brother added. "How exactly did you end up with Toma?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, him? He helped me get out of a small spot of trouble," Shayna replied.

"Small spot?" Toma demanded as he wheeled about. "Demons were about to invade this realm! Small spot my ass!"

"Demons?" Brad demanded in an incredulous voice.

"You're still doing that?" Aya asked worriedly. "That's so dangerous!"

Ran raised a hand. "Leave him alone, Aya," he scolded. "Because what we do isn't dangerous at all," he added sarcastically.

* * *

While Brad was leading the newcomers upstairs, Schuldig, Yohji, Ken and Far were lounging in the third floor TV room watching "The Order", a bizarre American movie that Far had come across after claiming the remote.

While two demonic children approached a priest burying a body in the cemetery under the cover of dark, Aya's scream split the air. Everyone (minus Far) jumped.

"An attack?" Yohji exclaimed as he sprang to his feet.

"It must be Esset!" Schuldig hissed.

"We need a plan," Ken snapped as he cast about for a weapon.

A few moments later, Ken (armed with a baseball bat), Yohji (uncoiling his wire), Farfarello (wielding several wicked looking knives) and Schuldig (checking the clip of his back-up gun) were running down the stairs, ready for a fight.

Far came flying off the stairs on the second floor screaming like a banshee. Nagi, standing just outside the computer room with Omi and Sakura, threw up a shield, which the Irish man bounced off of, landing on top of Yohji and tangling them both in his wire.

Brad sighed softly. This was not how he had pictured his day-off turning out. He had reached a state of apathy that was quite unusual for the normally determined precog. "Now that we're all here," he began in a tired voice, "I think introductions are in order."

Ken lowered his bat with a sheepish look while Schuldig hid his gun behind his back, and Nagi dropped the shield.

"Schatten has two new members," the precog continued. "This is Toma, Aya and Ran's cousin, and-"

"Seth?" Shayna whispered as she stared at Schuldig, her eyes wide.

Behind her, Ran winced slightly. "Here we go," he muttered.

"Se…" The German telepath's voice trailed off as he stared at the woman. Suddenly, his face turned white … and his eyes went blank. It was as if floodgates had been opened in his mind. Almost twenty years worth of memories were surging to the surface, memories from before Schwarz, memories he'd thought he'd never … remember.

"Seth, what's wrong," Shayna asked, her voice frantic. "Seth!" She started to move towards him, only to be dragged backwards by a worried, infuriated Nagi.

"Don't you touch him," the kinetic growled. "Stop calling him that! He's Schuldig!"

"Brad, are you all right?" Aya suddenly gasped.

Heads turned and eyes went wide when they saw that Brad was on his knees, clutching his head.

"Nagi, let her go," Ran suddenly snapped. "Now!" The telepath quickly scanned the room. His cousin, Toma, looked both confused and worried. Harsh glares were being leveled at Shayna, for she appeared to be the source of the former Schwarz members' pain. "Everyone, stand down," he growled.

Toma studied his cousin with narrow eyes, his quick mind evaluating everything that had transpired thus far. "What do you need us to do?" he asked calmly.

"Help Aya get Brad to his office," Ran ordered. "Sakura, take Shayna upstairs to your room. And stay there! Yohji, help me get Schu upstairs. Omi, Ken, Nagi, Far, make something to eat. Make sure there's enough for our new members."

"But-" Nagi began.

"No," Ran's harsh glare softened slightly. "I promise Schu will be alright. He just needs time. Take care of everything down here."

After a moment, the kinetic nodded. "Alright," he whispered.

Sakura hurried forward, a worried look on her face as she grasped Shayna's arm and gently tugged her upstairs. As the two women passed Schu, tears began to slip out of Shayna's eyes.

Toma, his face calm, bent over and pulled one of Brad's arms over his shoulder. Aya took the other and they slowly made their way towards the office.

Yohji carefully laid Schu out and grasped his shoulder while Ran wrapped his arms around the German and 'ported them all upstairs.

The remaining members of Schatten watched as everyone disappeared. Nagi's face was tight. Omi reached out and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Come on," he said softly. "We should get started. I think it's going to be a long day."

* * *

**3:33 pm**

Yohji and Ran carefully eased the frozen telepath down onto his bed. Leaning down, Ran snapped his fingers in front of Schu's face and gently prodded at his mind. A frown crossed his face when there was no response.

"I have a feeling that this is going to take longer than I thought," he finally said with a sigh. "Stay with him, Yohji, while I check on Shayna."

Yohji's face narrowed as he followed Ran out of the room. After shutting the door, the blonde gave his leader a stern look. "She attacked Schu and Brad, and you're going to give her an update?" he demanded.

Ran turned and gave Yohji his own look. "She didn't attack either of them. She's Schu's twin sister! She's just as scared and confused as everyone else."

Yohji's mouth dropped open in surprise, but no sound emerged.

With a sigh, the telepath began to speak once more. "I'll explain everything after Schu decides to rejoin us and everyone is together. I don't want to have to go through this more than once." He began to walk away, only to pause a moment later. "Yohji, how long was I like Schu after my own memories returned?"

"Oh, well," Yohji said with a shrug. "I'd say about half an hour."

Ran nodded and quickly disappeared around the corner.

* * *

Sakura shifted her weight slightly, silently wishing the tension that filled her room would diminish. Shayna sat on the edge of her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest and her face streaked with tears.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Sakura said hesitantly. "Ran seems to know what's going on. He'll take care of everything."

"Yeah, fine," Shayna muttered her eyes downcast.

"Um, Ran said your name was Shayna?" Sakura asked after a moment of frantic thought. "That's very pretty. What does it mean?"

Shayna looked up. "It means beautiful," she finally replied.

"Oh, well, that's very fitting," the other girl answered. "It's very nice to meet you."

"You don't have to lie," the auburn-haired woman muttered. "I saw how everyone reacted downstairs. I know you don't want me here."

A soft knock on the door saved Sakura from having to reply. A flood of relief ran through her as the door began to open. 'Wait,' she suddenly thought. 'If this isn't Ran …'

Fortunately, it was the red-haired telepath. As he stepped into the room, he glanced at Sakura, who gave him a helpless shrug. Looking back at Shayna, he walked over and seated himself beside her.

"I know you didn't hurt him," he said softly. "I know you couldn't hurt him. He's your brother, you could never do that."

"How could you possibly know that?" she asked softly, eyes widening as she spoke.

"There are a lot of things I know, but what I know about you is what Schuldig told me."

"You mean Seth," Shayna insisted.

"No," Ran replied, shaking his head. "He isn't Seth, not any more. He's Schuldig, Schu. He might let _you_ call him Seth. Not right away, but perhaps later. What you need to understand is that he's not the person you remember."

"But he remembers me? He's talked about me?"

"That's … complicated," Ran admitted.

"Complicated? Complicated how?" Shayna demanded.

"Well, I could explain, or, I could let Schu do it."

"Can I see him? Will he be ok?" she asked urgently.

"You can't see him yet," Ran began, then quickly added "but you'll be the first. When you do see him, you can't call him Seth. He'll still be shaky, and he'll need all the support we can give him. Ok?"

"Alright," she reluctantly replied. She didn't like the conditions this … man was setting, but if it got her in to see her brother … And Toma had always spoken so highly of his cousins …

Ran nodded and rose to leave the room. As he neared the doorway, he motioned for Sakura to join him. "Stay with her," he said softly. "Ken and Omi should be up soon with some food. Make sure she eats."

"I will," Sakura said reassuringly. "Schu … will he really be alright?" She asked suddenly.

"Yes, he just needs time," the telepath replied. "He'll be fine."

* * *

**3:47 pm**

"So you're married, huh?" Toma asked as he gave the unconscious precog a swift glance. "How'd you talk Ran into that?"

"By not giving him a choice in the matter," Aya replied primly as she smoothed Brad's hair. After they'd gotten him to the office, the precog had simply passed out. The cousins had laid him on the floor under the window. "I think we should put a couch in here, what do you think?" she asked thoughtfully.

"My .. office …" Brad groaned as his eyelids began to twitch.

"Yes, your office. The one in which you are lying on the floor because you don't have a couch."

The American growled.

"Aspirin?" Toma offered.

"Or a gun. Anything that will make the throbbing stop."

"We'll start with the aspirin," Aya corrected. "Second drawer on the left," she added, nodding towards Brad's desk.

Toma dug through the desk for a few moments before sighing. "Can't find it," he called.

"Oh, honestly," Aya exclaimed in exasperation. "Come and sit with him while I get it."

The newcomer obediently walked over to the window and settled down to sit next to Brad's head. "So, how're things going, partner?"

"Call me that again and you won't like the results," the American snapped back. He slowly pulled his arms up next to him so he could prop himself up on his elbows.

"I'm not sure," Toma began.

"What do you think you're doing?" Aya demanded as she pulled the aspirin bottle out of the desk … without looking up.

"Sitting up," came the rather peevish reply.

"You really should be taking it easy," Toma commented as he helped the precog upright.

"There will be time for that later. I need to talk to Ran."

"He's looking after Schu," Aya informed him as she shook two pills out of the bottle.

"That's part of why I need to talk to him," Brad explained.

"Well, we're under confinement, so we're going to have to wait for him to show up," corrected Toma.

"What?"

"Hey, I'm just following orders," came the defensive reply. "Ran told me to get you in here and I got the impression that we weren't supposed to leave."

"He's busy anyway," Aya added, "and you shouldn't be moving around. Until he shows up, why don't you tell us what you think is going on?"

* * *

**3:47 pm**

"Yohji, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ran demanded as he stepped back into his and Schu's room.

The blonde glanced up. He was crouched in front of the frozen German while waving a hand in front of his eyes. "I'm trying to get a response," Yohji replied in a patient voice.

"By telling him you have Guatemalan coffee?"

"I didn't say I was looking for a positive response. Happy, angry, sad, something is better than nothing. Besides," he added as he stood up and gave Ran a pointed look, "he's my friend too."

Ran inhaled sharply before slowly exhaling. A quiet internal voice whispered to him. 'He's just trying to help,' it said to him. 'This is his way of re-assuring himself that Schu will be ok. He's here to take care of Schu so that you can take care of everyone else.' As he squared his shoulders, he deliberately tried to distance himself from the paranoia that the other telepath's emotions had stirred up.

"I'm sorry I …" he began.

"I know, you're stressed," Yohji replied, his green eyes calm and understanding. "You're having to take care of everyone. And deal with whatever hit Brad and Schu. There's no way you didn't pick up anything. I know you're worried about Schu and that you don't have time to dwell on him. Just take a minute. The world won't explode, I promise."

Ran blinked, taken aback by the sudden offer of help. It had been so long since anyone had truly offered to take care of him, since he had had a reminder of why he and Yohji were such good friends, the best of friends actually. In fact, it had been too long. The past year and a half had been lost to chaos and mayhem, and through it all he had almost forgotten his best friend. Ran looked at Yohji warmly, "Thanks Yotan, I owe you."

"Nah, you don't owe me a thing. We're friends right. That's what friends are for."

"Yeah, I guess so." With that Ran moved across the room to the other telepath. After a few minutes of silent prodding, he rocked back on his heels and looked at Yohji. "His shields are stronger than I've ever seen them," he admitted.

"And that means what, exactly?"

"He's functioning on some level. He's retreated inside of himself and we just have to wait for him to come out."

"So he'll be ok?"

Ran sighed. "I'm going to be answering that question a lot today, aren't I? Yes," he said. "He'll be fine.

* * *

**4:12 pm**

"So what you're saying," Aya began, her brow furrowing slightly, "is that Ran attended Rosenkreuz, that he is Maelstrom and that he and Schu's combined powers were referred to as Mayhem. Rosenkreuz took those memories away from them and you and Schu just got them back."

"And that Schu is Shay's twin brother, for whom we have been searching for over a year," Toma added. "And her appearance is what triggered these memories to return, memories which temporarily overwhelmed you and are still overwhelming Schu."

"Yes," Brad replied.

The entire room jumped when someone knocked sharply on the door.

"Come in, Nagi," Brad called as he calmly adjusted his glasses.

Toma glanced at Aya and leaned towards her. "Does he do that a lot?" he whispered.

"Only when I let him," she replied.

Her cousin grinned and patted her hand. "Good girl," he murmured.

The door opened and Nagi crept in, eyes downcast and his hands moving nervously. "We made food like Ran asked," he said softly. "Does anyone want anything?"

"What do you have?" Toma asked curiously.

"Uh, well, a little bit of everything," Nagi replied nervously. He eyed the blue-haired man for a moment, a flicker of uncertainty running through him.

"Why don't I help you put something together," Aya offered. "You can help me carry it back."

"That'll work," Nagi replied. Before turning to leave, he gave Brad a hesitant glance. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine," the precog replied reassuringly.

"And Schu?"

"Will be fine." When Nagi gave him an irked look, he elaborated. "Ran is taking care of him. He knows what's going on, and he knows what to do. I promise you that Schu will be just fine."

The tension that had filled the room upon Nagi's arrival instantly dissipated. Brad had never made a promise to Nagi that he hadn't kept. Schu would be fine.

"Let's go get that food," Aya said warmly. As the pair departed, she could hear Toma talking to Brad.

"Is the kid always like that?"

Brad gave him an annoyed look. Toma merely grinned, silently pleased that his attempts to lighten the mood had worked.

In the kitchen, Aya was assisting Omi and Ken prepare trays to take upstairs.

"Brad's fine," she said as she placed a few last items on the trays.

"Good to hear," Ken said briefly and he scooped up his tray. "Coming Far?" He walked out of the kitchen, Omi and Far close on his heels.

Aya finished Nagi's tray and gave him a warm smile. "I need to go give Omi a message for Ran," she said. "I'll be right back." Nagi nodded and Aya turned and slipped out of the room.

"Omi, how has Nagi been?" she asked as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"I've been worried that we were going to lose a few dishes," he replied, turning around. "I don't know what you did, but all the static is gone."

"Do you mind if I borrow him for the rest of the day?" she asked.

"Please," the blonde replied. "We don't really need him around and I know how he feels. So, by all means, it's ok. Especially if you can get him to stop vibrating."

"Thanks Omi," Aya said.

Back in the office, Nagi was beginning to fret. "I should get back to helping Omi and Ken," he said.

"Why don't you stay here?" Aya said as she re-entered the room.

Nagi frowned. "Ran said-"

"Nagi, stay, that's an order," Brad interrupted, knowing that Nagi would be better off with them.

* * *

**4:20 pm**

Ran opened the door when he felt Omi's approach. He blinked, feeling slightly disconcerted when he realized that Omi's head was a bit higher than usual.

"I have food, do you need anything else?" Omi asked as he hefted the tray.

"What you have looks fine," Yohji replied as he walked up behind Ran and, reaching around him, and started picking at the tray's contents. He frowned when he picked up a mug of coffee. "This isn't that Guatemalan crap, is it?" he asked warily.

"No but I can fix that," Omi stated in a level voice.

"Yeesh, what's your problem?" Yohji demanded in mock annoyance. He grinned and backed into the room once more.

Omi sighed softly and shook his head. "How is everyone?" he asked, giving Ran a wide-eyed pleading look.

"Everyone's fine," Ran replied.

"Even Shayna?" Omi persisted. "I could tell by the way you reacted earlier that everything that's happened isn't her fault."

"She's fine as well. Sakura's looking after her." With a sudden frown, Ran gave Omi a piercing look. "Where's Nagi?"

"Aya took charge of him," the blonde replied. "While we were making drinks and such, the dishes kept rattling, so much so that I thought something was going to break." He shook his head slightly at the memory. "When we had finished everything, he went to go see if Aya and Toma wanted anything. Brad had woken up and he promised Nagi that Schu would be alright. After that, all the tension, all the static he was emitting went away. Aya and I decided that it would be best if he stayed in the office."

"It's for the better," the telepath agreed with an approving nod. "Now, I need you, Ken and Far to make dinner. Preferably something that will take several hours since we're eating a bit right now. It's also going to take Schu a few more hours to recover."

"You want us to do … what?" Omi asked in horror.

"Cook. Dinner. Enough for everyone, at that." When he saw Omi's wide-eyed look, he continued. "You can do things with technology that's never seen on sci-fi shows. I think you can operate an oven."

"Of course I can run an oven," came the blonde's indignant reply.

"Then prove it to me."

"I will," Omi snapped. "Just you wait and see!"

"Fine. Just make sure that no one changes floors without my permission. That will just give me more problems to deal with."

* * *

**4:40 pm **

Toma leaned back against the wall and gave his cousin an admiring look when he abruptly appeared in the center of the room. "That's a new trick," he applauded. "When did you learn to do that?"

Ran gave him a dismissive look. _'Later, I promise,'_ he sent. Toma's eyes widened further at the silent comment. "Schu's going to be fine," he said out loud as he looked at Nagi.

"How's Shay doing?" Toma asked, concern filling his voice.

"She's scared, but fine."

"Not that it really matters. She's the one that caused all this," the teenager muttered under his breath.

Brad frowned at him. "She didn't hurt Schu or me."

"She's his sister," Ran added. "Schu is currently trying to process almost two decades worth of memories that Rosenkreuz suppressed. It's not her fault."

"She …" Nagi's voice trailed off, his eyes widening and his face paling. "I'm sorry," he whispered after a moment. He gave Toma an apologetic look. "I shouldn't have blamed her, not without all the facts. I was worried."

"It's ok," Toma replied, a gentle smile crossing his face. "I understand."

While the pair spoke, Brad gave Ran a wry look. "Now I know why I could never see you properly in my visions. Why you were never part of my team. Of Schwarz."

"Why I … what?" Ran asked in confusion.

"When we were all attending Rosenkreuz, I was already having visions about my field team. I kept seeing Schu in my visions but never you. But every time I observed Schu, you were right there with him, and I could tell that your powers were connected. I also knew that as powerful as you two were together that Esset wouldn't separate you because you were too much of an asset to the organization when you were together."

"The problem was we got too powerful," Ran jumped in.

"Exactly," Brad replied, "it would have been rather hard for you to be part of Schwarz, when you had teleported to Tokyo and would eventually become a member of Weiss," the precog finished.

"Yeah, that would make things kind of difficult." Nagi and Toma chimed in simultaneously.

Everybody paused before the room burst into laughter.

After Aya got her giggles under control, she spoke up. "When Schu hears about this, he's going to die."

"Yes, he will," the telepath agreed. "I should get back to him. I think at this point it would be best if everyone just stayed where they are," he stated looking Brad in the eye.

The other American nodded. "I agree. That will reduce any lingering chaos and hopefully this will all be resolved very soon."

"Schu should be back with us again within the next two hours. I'll be letting Shayna see him very shortly after he comes to. Ken, Omi, and Far are fixing dinner; I kept picking up thoughts about lasagna when we discussed it earlier, so I guess we're having Italian tonight. We can all eat, and then . . . family meeting?"

"Sounds good," Brad confirmed.

"Wait, who's cooking?" Aya asked in a slightly panicked voice.

Ran walked over and put an arm around his sister's shoulders. He looked down at her endearingly, a small mischievous light shimmering in his violet eyes as he began in a mock reassuring tone, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. Have a little faith." With that he brushed a quick kiss on her forehead and disappeared.

Toma looked at the remaining occupants of the office. "Does he always do that?"

Brad gave Toma a sour look. "I don't know," he began sarcastically, "do you always make irritatingly incessant inquiries?"

"Whoa, nice alliteration. Do you think you could teach me how to do that?"

Brad simply glared.

* * *

**7:19 pm**

As soon as Schu started to stir, Ran left to get Shayna, leaving Yohji to take care of the German.

The red-head opened the door to Sakura's room, and before he could say a word Shayna was on her feet ready to follow. The entire way down the hall Ran could hear Shayna muttering Schu's name to herself like a mantra. When they reached the door to his and Schu's room, he paused and turned towards her.

"Everything is going to fine. Just relax." He gave her arm a reassuring pat before opening the door so she could enter first.

Schu was seated on the bed, his eyes partially closed and a frown on his face. Yohji was hovering nearby, with a look of concern in his eyes. As Shayna walked into the room, however, the German telepath's head snapped up and his eyes turned to pierce hers. Yohji bit his lip slightly and moved back to stand near the door beside Ran.

"Se…Schu," Shayna whispered as she stumbled into the room. "You're awake? You're alright?"

"Ja," he replied, eyes never leaving her face.

Shayna's pace slowed as she neared the twin-sized bed, and after a moment's hesitation, she sat down beside him.

"Schu, I…I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm so very sorry. Can you forgive me?"

"For what?" he asked, his soft voice full of confusion. Almost unconsciously, his hand stretched out to cover hers, resting on the top of the bed.

"For leaving you, when _they_ came. All those years ago," she explained, voice hushed "when we were separated. I escaped and didn't take you with me."

"It's not your fault," he corrected as a frown appeared on his face. "It's Esset's. They're the ones who attacked. They're the ones who separated us. You have nothing to be sorry for."

The auburn-haired woman chewed on her lip as she looked at him anxiously. "I looked for you," she said after a minute or two of silence. "When Toma brought me back here. I looked for you so hard. I missed you. I wanted to get back to you."

"For as long as I remembered you, I missed you," Schu replied. "But then…" his voice trailed off for a moment as his eyes unfocused, lost in memory. "Then Esset took my memories away, took you away." His eyes refocused and he gave her a piercing look. "As long as I had my memories, I never forgot you. I always thought about you."

By this point, the twins had shifted closer together and Schu had a comforting arm wrapped around his sister's shoulders. A sudden snicker escaped Shayna.

"You're poking around in my head," she sniggered. She looked up, mischief filling her eyes. "I've missed that."

"It's still a pit of terror and confusion," he teased. "The female mind is no place for any self-respecting male."

Shayna laughed and stuck her tongue out at him. Suddenly, she cocked her head to one side. "It's … a little different," she frowned. "There's an echo."

"Ah, that would be Ran," her twin explained as he shifted his weight to nod towards the other red-head. "While we were in Rosenkreuz, our minds became…very close." He hesitated. "Almost as close as you and I."

"But not completely," Ran added, his deep voice suddenly filling the room. "No link can ever hope to match what rests between you." He studied them for a moment. "Now that you mention it, I'm picking up an echo as well. I'm going to assume that that's you." He said looking at Shayna.

"Yeah, that would definitely be Shay that you're picking up," Schu replied easily.

"It's kind of nice," Ran and Shay replied together.

Yohji looked amused. "And the set of twins is who again because I'm a little confused."

Everyone laughed.

Throughout it all, the long separated siblings continued to get closer and closer to one another wanting nothing more than for this single moment to last forever.

'_Hey,'_ Yohji sent to Ran, _'remind you of anyone?'_

'_Huh?'_

Yohji rolled his eyes at his leader. _'They are just like you and Aya were when we first got back.'_

'_Hmm, you think so,'_ came Schu's mental voice as he hugged his sister tightly.

The lanky assassin jumped at the sound of the unexpected voice.

'_Is that a good or bad thing?' _Shayna inquired curiously.

"Is nothing sacred in this house?" Yohji finally asked aloud in mock incredulity.

"No." Both telepaths replied simply.

The blonde finally smiled warmly over at Shay and answered her question. "It's a very good thing."

"We should be getting downstairs now," Ran said looking over at Schu, "everyone has been really worried about you."

Fear suddenly flared in the two telepaths' minds.

"Whoa," Schu exclaimed wrapping his arms around his sister in a tight embrace. "Calm down. Everything will be fine," he murmured soothingly as he figured out the problem. "Nobody downstairs is going to hurt or blame you for this morning. Ran took care of everything."

The auburn-haired woman looked at the American telepath who gave her a nod of affirmation.

"Come on then," Schu exclaimed, "I'm starving."

* * *

**7:30 pm**

Unable to take it any more, Aya strode out of her husband's office, silently dreading what she would find. Her mind was filled with visions of a burned kitchen, scorched dinner and half-empty fire extinguishers.

What she found was Sakura cheerfully setting the (new) dining room table while Far and Ken brought out the food. Omi was humming to himself in the kitchen as he waited for the bread to finish warming up.

"I told you everything would be fine," Toma's voice suddenly breathed in her ear. Aya let out an unladylike squawk and jumped in the air. "After all," he continued, a grin appearing on his face, "I'm not the one cooking."

"No, if you were cooking, the fire department would have already come and left," she snapped back, still peeved that she had been unable to assist with dinner. Seeing that the food had been neatly prepared, she darted into the dining room.

Brad sighed when he heard her scolding Sakura for using the wrong tablecloth. "Dear, please come back here," he stated in a penetrating voice. "They have things under control. You are just getting in the way." When Aya appeared long enough to give him a dark look, he merely raised a questioning eyebrow. "Tell me I'm wrong."

Aya huffed to herself and stalked into the sitting room to seat herself primly in an armchair.

"I thought of all people, you would be more progressive," Toma scolded, mischief filling his eyes as he threw himself into a chair. "You are American after all. Didn't you people have entire social movement about that? But no, have to order the lady about, have to keep her under control."

Aya looked pleased with her cousin's staunch defense. Brad wheeled away from the kitchen to give them both incredulous looks. "You want progressive?" he demanded. "In that case, I think it's about time I had a mid-life crisis and bought myself a motorcycle and a little red sports car. Aya will need to go get a job so that she can be a bread-winner and contributor, and oh, perhaps we should also tell Schu that you've been living with his sister for over a year."

Toma's dark blue eyes had gotten progressively wider and wider as sarcasm continued to spill from the precog's mouth. "Actually, I was thinking we could hold off on the telling the big brother and the sister thing and I think I'll be shutting up now," he stuttered.

A triumphant smirk appeared on Brad's face. After almost four hours of Toma doing his best to get under his skin and poking at him, he'd finally gotten him to stop.

An undefeated grin suddenly appeared on Toma's face, and with a wink, he casually rose to his feet and crossed to the other side of the room to idly study the books in the small library.

Ken rolled his eyes as he heard Aya congratulating Brad on 'letting go' and 'being himself in the presence of others.' The sound of footsteps on the stairs, however, drew his attention away from the married couple and to the assassins now descending from the third floor.

"Oh good," he said bluntly when he saw Yohji. "We can eat."

Movement in the room slowed and quickly came to a stop. Schu and Shay descended side by side. Schu looked a bit tired but generally cheerful. Shay's face was calm and composed. Behind them, Ran leveled a pointed look at Schatten, one that promised a number of unpleasant things should they react poorly.

"Schu, you're alright now?" Nagi asked anxiously as he hurried out of the kitchen.

"I'm just fine, chibi," the German reassured him.

"And Shayna?" Nagi continued, turning to the woman. "I'm sorry I grabbed you earlier. I hope I didn't hurt you."

"You didn't," Shayna replied, a warm smile appearing on her face. "I understand why you reacted the way you did. Everything's fine."

"And since we are ALL fine," Ran interrupted in a slightly impatient voice, "we may now eat."

The evening meal progressed swiftly and with little drama. Aya was forced to admit that the meal was up to her exacting standards ("But don't think this is going to be a regular occurrence!") and Toma put aside poking at Brad in favor of ensuring that Shayna was well.

Once the table had been cleared of the dinner dishes and dessert brought out and passed around, Brad got everyone's attention so the family meeting could begin before handing the proceedings over to Ran.

"I believe that you've been promising everyone a full explanation," the precog began. "This would be the time to enlighten us."

Ran gave Brad a mild look before beginning to speak. "Before I say anything else, I want to clarify what everyone has undoubtedly figured out by now: what happened this morning was the result of the emergence of suppressed memories. While Shayna's presence is responsible for triggering the return of these memories, she is not to blame for Brad and Schu's reactions to those memories."

Ran scanned the room once before continuing. "To understand today's events, you'll need to know more about the time I spent at Rosenkreuz. When I was eight, I was brought to Rosenkreuz. One day after I'd been there for a while, some of the older students began to harass me. Schu stepped in and drove them off."

At this, the German telepath snorted. "I probably didn't need to step in," he said. "You were doing damn well, especially considering what a little shrimp you were back then."

"But why did you step in," Nagi asked in a perplexed voice. "I may not have been at Rosenkreuz for very long, but I do know how it works. Age groups and talent types stick to their own. So, what made you step in?"

Schu shrugged. "No idea," he replied calmly. "Part of it was how aggressive he was, that he was willing to fight back against boys twice his size and several years older than he was. Another part was how well he was doing against them. As for the rest," he shrugged again. "I was curious."

"After that, we stuck together," Ran added. "Together, no one bothered us. Eventually, we were both given our codenames. Schu was Mastermind and I was Maelstrom. The link that had arisen between the two of us was named Mayhem."

"Why Mayhem, exactly," Yohji asked carefully.

"I'll show you the page out of Schu's file," Omi interjected in a dry voice. "It illustrates what those two were like at Rosenkreuz rather clearly."

Ran began to speak once more. "The link between us, the Mayhem link, eventually grew so strong that the higher-ups in Esset became concerned. They didn't want to lose our powers, but they wanted the link gone. I don't know what options they considered, but the decision they ultimately reached was to destroy the link."

The red-head's eyes closed for a moment. "They set us up with a false training mission and planned to use a post-mission physical to break the link. They knocked Schu out and tried to do the same to me. I panicked and teleported for the very first time even as they injected me with the serum to wipe my memories, to prevent me from remembering Mayhem. It's sheer luck that I landed in Japan."

"Why didn't anyone else remember you?" Ken asked after a moment of silence. "No one in Schwarz recognized you, after all."

"They tinkered with everyone's memories," Schu said in a dry voice. "Anyone who had been at Rosenkreuz while we were there, anyone who could have heard about us. That includes Brad," he added in a pointed tone.

"Then how did your memories returning trigger Brad's?" asked a puzzled Omi.

Brad smiled grimly. "Schwarz's team link is still in place," he answered. "When Schu's memories returned, the force of their return rippled through the link. That ripple is what removed the block on my memories."

An awkward silence filled the room. "Since there don't appear to be any further questions," Brad said after the silence had stretched on for over a minute, "I suggest we all go our separate ways. As far as sleeping arrangements go, Toma, you get Schu's old room and Shayna, you may have Ken's."

Ran looked at Shay. "For tonight," he said, "take my bed. You and Schu need time to catch up. I'll bunk with Toma so that we may do the same."

"So that's why you had us move everyone about," Yohji interrupted, a note of satisfaction filling his voice. "You could have told us we were getting new people instead of just ordering Ken into Aya's old room and getting two new beds for Ran's."

"Yes, but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun." The precog smirked at the blonde before speaking once more. "We'll be closing the Koneko tomorrow so that we can get to know our new members and have a team meeting."

"If we're having a team meeting tomorrow, what's this?" Ken asked in a plaintive voice. "If you have more to tell us, why don't you just tell us now?"

"Because team meetings and family meetings are different," Brad explained. "Our lives shouldn't be ruled by what we do and I intend to keep things distinct and separate. Family meetings occur on the second and third floors, team meetings in the briefing room. Period."

"Makes sense to me," Toma stated. He grinned. "Get to know everyone, huh? Can we play trust games?"

"You want to play trust games?" Nagi asked in a mocking voice. Toma's eyebrows shot up when he found himself levitating above the table.

"How about this for a trust game?" Toma responded as he raised his hand and snapped. Instantly, the window to the sitting room flew open and a hard wind suddenly swept through the room. The two stared hard at each other, Toma still floating above the table and the wind whipping around them. Neither were willing to back down.

Ran groaned and covered his eyes with his hand.

"I think this is making Aya upset," Far said in a low voice.

Toma dropped back into this chair and the wind abruptly disappeared. Aya was giving them both a thin-lipped look. Nagi settled for glaring at her blue-haired cousin. "Trust me now?"

"Of course," Toma replied, his voice serious. "Aya and Ran both trust you. You live and work with Shay's brother. Why wouldn't I?" He glanced over at Aya. "Sorry, K," he added.

"K," Omi repeated. "Do we want to know what that stands for?"

"It stands for Kryptonite," Aya explained. "It's a nickname from when we were kids. Apparently, I was their weakness." A sudden glint appeared in her eyes. "It was also my codename."

"Your what?" Brad demanded.

Schu gave Ran an amused look. The red-haired telepath was emitting waves and waves of dread and embarrassment. "Explain," he demanded.

"When we were kids and when we needed to pull something off without the adults knowing about it, we set up a code," Aya explained in a gleeful voice. "Toma was CK, which stood for Clark Kent, and Ran was DK-"

"Drift King?" Sakura asked puzzled.

Ran gave her a slightly disgusted and insulted look. "Dark Knight, thank you very much." He practically sneered the last part but winked to let the younger girl know he wasn't really upset.

"What kind of stuff did you do?" Sakura asked in a curious voice.

"That's classified," Ran began.

"We'd tell you, but then we'd have to kill you," Toma finished.

"That bad, huh?" Yohji asked in a pleasant voice.

"Worse," Aya added cheerfully.

Toma and Ran looked pleased. And rather proud.

* * *

**10 am, Next Morning, Sitting Room**

Toma leaned back against Shayna's chair and gave his cousin an accusing look. "You promised me an explanation of who's who and what they are last night," he stated in a matter of fact voice. "I want that now."

Ran gave him an amused look. "Very well," he replied. "I hope you know who I am. I am a telepath and teleporter who is capable of utilizing gestalt."

Toma nodded patiently.

"Schu is the strongest telepath to ever emerge from Rosenkreuz, Brad is the strongest precog and Nagi," Ran continued, his eyes glinting in amusement as he remembered the previous night, "is the strongest telekinetic. Farfarello can't feel pain and Aya is a very strong empath with microkinetic abilities that we shall soon be training."

Toma waited for a moment before frowning. "Is that all the Talents?" he asked in confusion. When Ran nodded, the confusion increased. "What about your Epispatial Elementals?"

"You didn't," Nagi said in horror.

Toma looked at him for a moment before grinning. "Oh, yes, I did."

"Did what?" Yohji demanded. "And just what is an Epispa-whatever?"

"He mixed a Greek prefix and a Latin derivative," Nagi answered in disgust. "It's just not done, not to mention being the grossest misuse of language I've ever encountered. It's appalling really."

"The Epi thing means Time and Space Elemental," Toma clarified as he carefully ignored Nagi.

"Elemental … as in the five elements?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"No, it's more basic than that," Nagi muttered. "The building blocks of the building blocks, you could say."

"Lovely," Brad said shortly. "What does it mean?"

"Well, she's Time," Shay said pointing at Sakura.

"Which leaves Space," Toma finished, looking about the room expectantly.

All eyes turned to Yohji. "Hey," he said defensively. "I didn't ask to be an Epi-whatever."

"Epispatial Elemental," Toma and Nagi said together. Toma glanced at Nagi in amusement. "I suppose the next question will be what that means," he said dryly.

"Since I haven't actually seen your powers in action some of this is going to be a bit speculatory, but here goes nothing. Sakura has the ability to manipulate time. Not so much time itself, but more like she has the ability to manipulate how she and others around her move through time. Yohji works with space." Toma paused a moment when he remembered something Ran had told him. "You used to be a PI right, and a good one at that if I'm not mistaken?" When he got an affirmative nod, he continued. "Okay, quick physics lesson. Matter curves space and all things are made up of matter. So, Yohji is something like a cross between a finder and an object reader. He gets a sense for things and vibes off objects and people. He is always highly aware of his surroundings. When you put the two together, you get spacetime.

You see, when it is just Sakura she is affecting herself, and when it is just Yohji he is being affected by matter. However, when they are together they act like the force in Newton's first law, all objects that are in motion will remain in motion unless acted on by an outward force, and the same goes for objects at rest. The point is, Yohji and Sakura together are that outward force. But they don't affect physical matter like we think of, they affect dark matter, which is all the matter we postulate into existence because there is not enough observable matter to account for the functioning of the universe."

He explained this as if it was the most simple and obvious of concepts and anyone who couldn't grasp it was a dim-witted moron.

Schu leaned over and gave his sister a pained look. "Where did you find him, exactly?"

"Oh, well, we had a small scuffle," she explained. "We fought, he knocked me around a bit-"

"He did what!" exploded Schu.

"Toma!" Aya said in an appalled voice.

Yohji gave him a harsh frown. "You hit a woman?" he demanded in a dangerous voice.

Toma quickly found himself on the receiving end of a number of harsh looks. "Now wait just a minute," he began in an irritated voice. "She started it!"

"So you hit her?" Yohji demanded again.

Annoyance flickered across Toma's face. "Why don't we look at the situation this way," he said. "What would you do if, you're alone in the woods and were suddenly attacked by a _demon horde_ and the last surviving demon you are attempting to question suddenly sprouts a knife in his skull, _embedded up to the hilt_, might I add. And if, after throwing the body at the unknown attacker, said attacker taunts and sneers, clearly cruising for a fight."

He looked around the room once more. "What I did," he continued, "was tackle my attacker, who wiggled free and then proceeded to launch an attack of her own. I blocked the attack and slapped her _once_. It was an open-hand slap because I was trying my best _not_ to hurt her. I was simply trying to get her to stop long enough so I could figure out what the hell was going on."

Toma cast a look around the room, trying to see if his point had been fully expressed. Finally he locked eyes with Aya. "Do you honestly believe I'm capable of abuse?"

Aya stared back into the blue depths of his eyes for a moment before shaking her head and replying. "No. I know better than that. I'm sorry."

"Obviously, he didn't hurt me," Shayna suddenly said in a calm voice. "Otherwise I wouldn't be here now. That is the only time he's hit me and it was in the course of a fight that I started. In the year and a half that I've known him now, there's been nothing like that." She took a moment to brush an imaginary fleck of dust off the arm of the chair. "Moving along, now."

Schu frowned slightly, his mind ticking over the 'year and a half' comment. Judging by the current mood of the room, however, now was not the time to bring it up.

Toma could tell he that the subject needed to shift and fast. "Oh, I forgot the most interesting part . . . at the end of the fight she kissed me." The blued haired warrior reveled in the shock that pervaded the room.

Shayna's face turned bright red as she shot Toma a glare that promised suffering in some form or another. Then she looked up and explained to very confused group. "He had me pinned," she stated simply. "How else was I supposed to get him off me?"

The room erupted in laughter.

* * *

**11:00 pm, Schatten Mission Room**

Brad looked out over Schatten with a grave expression on his face. He was standing in front of the TV they typically watched their mission tapes on. Aya had claimed the large armchair directly facing the television with Ran perched on the arm, while Ken, Sakura, Nagi and Omi squeezed themselves onto one couch and Yohji, Schu and Shay sat on the other. Far sat on the floor near Ken and Toma leaned against Shay's legs, one hand tracing idle patterns on her foot.

Taking a deep breath to fortify himself, the precog began. "Schatten is a team. The best team employed by Kritiker and the best in the world. More than that," he continued, "we are a family. And this distinction must be maintained as much as possible.

When Esset attacked us and we dared to retaliate, we started a war. We did not set out to start a war with Esset but start it we did. And we. Will. Finish it."

Brad looked from one face to another, trying to gauge how his words were being received. He had to get this across, to make it crystal clear. The needless loss of any one of them was too painful to contemplate.

"All who choose to fight this war must do so knowing that the fight will be long and brutal. We will not emerge unhurt. We will emerge with countless nightmares that will plague us for the rest of our lives. But as far as I can See, we will win.

But, to demand that you fight this war would be to declare us, to declare ME no better than Esset. All of you have the option of leaving, of walking away from Kritiker and starting a new life. You will not be bothered by either side. No one will think less of you for choosing to live in the daylight while the rest scurry in the dark.

If you choose to remain, however, you do so knowing that everything you have and more will be required. Some of us may lose little, others everything. Even my Sight cannot see all ends. Human nature does not lend itself to being predicted. The visions I have had already and the ones I will have are no guarantee. In the end, you may lay down your life so that the others may continue.

This is the choice you must make now."

Brad's neutral, carefully measured tone betrayed none of his emotions. His incredible mental shields where at their strongest so that none of the sensitives in the room could be unknowingly swayed. He did not expect anyone to decide to leave. What he was proposing, however, was leagues above their typical assassination work. Esset had existed, in some form or another, for centuries. Tearing it down completely would be the work of a lifetime. Perhaps even longer.

Silence filled the room and the assembled assassins were carefully avoiding each others eyes.

"Your silence will be taken as consent." Brad finally stated.

Everyone looked at each other meaningfully.

"This is our family," Ken suddenly said in a serious voice. "None of us are leaving, no matter what the cost may be. We're staying. All of us. So, why don't you fill us in, so we can all survive this war?"

Brad looked around the room carefully, and getting several nods that signified agreement with Ken's statement, he spoke again. "Very well then, let's begin.

First of all, several changes need to be made. Soon, we will need to take time to train at the Villa. We shall also need to prepare for one last member to join us. It will be time yet before her arrival, but once she has joined us, Schatten will finally be complete.

While at the Villa, we will be cross-training. Everyone needs to know how to use everyone else's weapon. We need to think alike, to be inside each other's heads and function as a single unit."

Brad's lips tightened for a moment. "It will also eventually become necessary for the ladies of Schatten to join us in the field."

A number of outcries and growls rippled through the room.

"I don't like this any more than you do," the precog finally snapped. "But it will be necessary. Aya," he said, looking at his wife, "you already know the basics. Sakura," he continued, turning his head to look at the teenager, "we all know that you can pull a trigger. And Shayna," he finished, pausing for a moment, "well, I'm sure your general disposition will be enough to drive off any would-be attackers."

"Likewise, I'm sure," Schuldig's twin replied in an even voice.

"But if all else fails," Toma suddenly injected, "I say we give the girls weed wackers and let them have at."

Far shook his head. "You don't start with garden tools. You start with kitchen implements. That's far more terrifying."

"Toma's not allowed in _my_ kitchen," Aya said. "Things start exploding when he gets close."

"Alright, just because that _one time_," her cousin began.

"I'm fairly certain the great Oracle has more to say," Yohji interrupted. "Why don't we let him finish before turning to the childhood anecdotes?"

"What I have left," Brad said once everyone had fallen silent, "are individual assignments and requests. You have all heard of and seen the benefits of the Schwarz team link. Schatten will need to have a similar link and everyone will need to construct mental shields strong enough to keep out telepaths and other mental talents. Schu, Ran, I'd appreciate it if you would both begin to work on that.

Sakura, you and Nagi need to finish school so that you can devote time to the team. We shall be making arrangements for you to test out very soon, so you will need to study.

Sakura, you will also need to grow your hair out. I would like to take advantage of the close resemblance between you and Aya. You will both need to learn to do what the other does so that you may double for each other should the need arise. Ken, you and Nagi will be doing the same."

"Problem," Yohji interrupted after a moment. "There's a height difference. A noticeable one."

"A temporary problem," Brad replied, a flicker of amusement crossing his face. "He and Omi both have a few more inches to grow. Now, Yohji, please assist Toma and Shayna. They will need time to adjust and learn how we do things. Show them our protocols and give them all the information they may need to know.

Toma, since you and Shayna appear to be knowledgeable, I'd like you to assist Yohji and Sakura in learning to control their powers. I leave to you the method by which you instruct them.

Farfarello, I'd like to speak to you after the meeting has concluded about what your task shall be.

Now then," he finally finished, looking about the room once more. "Is there anything else? Questions, concerns, anything?"

"Well," Omi began in a hesitant voice, "there's this project I've been thinking about. I think I might have figured out a way to hinder or neutralize psychic abilities."

A startled look crossed the faces of the Talents.

"Why would you want to figure something like that out?" Schuldig asked in a slightly sick tone. "This could hurt us, too."

"If I'm right, I can isolate it so that it won't hurt anyone on the team," the young blonde said reassuringly.

"It's a good idea," Ran and Brad said together. They gave each other a look. Brad continued, "Nagi, help him, please. Between the two of you, I believe you'll figure it out."

"Mind if I lend a hand?" Toma asked in a curious voice.

"We could use all the help we could get," Omi admitted. "In fact, we'd welcome it."

"If there's nothing else?" Brad paused, waiting for any further objections or comments. "Ultimately, we need to communicate. I can't See everything. If anything comes up, if someone notices anything, then we need to know."

"We'll need a new shift schedule for the Koneko," Aya mused suddenly. "But that can wait," she added, sitting up straighter. "It's getting late, and we have a great deal to do tomorrow."

"We have school," Nagi said rising.

"And we have to open the Koneko tomorrow," Yohji added with a note of regret. As he spoke, everyone rose to their feet and began to drift upstairs.

Once the room had emptied, Brad turned to Far.

"I need you to watch," he said with no preamble. "Everyone, for enemy agents, for anything out of the ordinary. And I need you to do it quietly."

"Whatever you need me to do," the Irish man said in a serious voice. "Just like a watchdog, huh?"

"Well, I wouldn't have put it so crudely myself, but the basic analogy is correct."

"I'm happy to do it, then," Far replied before standing and disappearing up the stairs.

Brad watched him go and slowly took a deep breath. Things were in motion now, things that could never be undone.

Finally, he headed up the stairs to his office, as there were a few last papers to take care of before the next day. Upon opening his door, he was startled to see Sakura sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk. When she heard the door, she turned.

"During the meeting just now," she began hesitantly, "you said that we should talk to you if something came up."

"Well, I wasn't expecting something this soon, but by all means," he said as he pulled the door shut and crossed over to his desk, "continue."

"Oh, um." Sakura hesitated, struggling to find the words. "After the attack on the Koneko . . ."

"Yes," Brad prodded.

"Well . . ."

Brad sighed. "You've obviously come to me because you think this is important and I promise that, if at all possible, whatever you tell me will remain confidential. Whatever you tell me, I will take any and all necessary steps to make sure no one finds out that the information you disclose came from you."

Sakura looked into his eyes and saw that she could trust him, that telling him what she knew was the best thing she could do. "After the attack on the Koneko, Birman sort of threatened us."

"What do you mean 'sort of' and who exactly is 'us'?" Brad asked, suddenly very upset.

Sakura became slightly uneasy at the very possessive look in Brad's eyes, but answered his question. "When Birman was leaving, she stopped to talk with Nagi, Omi and I. She said that if what had happened was our fault, was because of a breach in our security, then we would be held accountable as we are the active technical/security support for Schatten. That's why we had to get a report in so fast."

"Why didn't you tell me this at the time?" Brad was careful not to sound angry because he wasn't, not with her at least.

"Nagi said we should tell you, but Omi said no. He pulled rank on Nagi since he is the senior Kritiker agent. Said if we were responsible he would take the blame. Clearly it wasn't us, and we did come up with a way to protect ourselves from Kritiker, but . . ."

"You were right to tell me about this. I'll take care of it. I will not tolerate my team being threatened. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." Brad paused for a moment. "You should go on to bed now. You have school tomorrow and those tests will be coming up very soon. These past few days have been rather hectic, so go get some rest."

Sakura nodded and stood to leave. "Good night," she said quietly.

"Good night."

* * *

**11:27 pm, TV room**

"Hey, who's supposed to be opening the shop tomorrow?" Schu asked as he unscrewed the top of another beer and glanced around the room. The men of Weiss, Far and Toma all looked at him in amusement.

"Never mind who's opening it, what are you doing running a flower shop?" Toma demanded after taking a gulp of his own drink.

"The flower shop is boring," Ken said bluntly. "I want to keep with our current topic. Who's turn is it?"

"Mine, I believe," Yohji said, taking a small sip to fortify himself. "Back when I was a P.I., I occasionally had to take some shadier jobs to pay the rent. One of those jobs was to collect some money due to a minor yakuza boss. The only problem was that the man I was supposed to collect from fancied himself an up-and-coming rival and had decided to make an example out of me. They let me all the way into the office to talk to the boss when I was attacked. The attack resulted in having to shoot my way out of the building." He tipped his head back thoughtfully. "That's also when I first laid my hands on a wire. It wasn't until a few months later that I came up with the idea of hiding it in a watch."

"Putting that together must have been fun," Toma commented. "Could I see it?"

"Sure," Yohji replied. With a quick gesture, he undid the watch and handed it over.

"My turn, I guess," Toma said in an absent voice as he turned the weapon over in his hands, studying it with intent eyes. "My first kill was last year. It was a few hours after I met Shayna. We'd traveled to another realm and were headed towards a demon lord's castle, the same demon we were planning on destroying. One of his generals assailed us. This, of course, forced me to take measure I'm not normally inclined to. However, I couldn't let his comment pass. So, I did the only logical thing: I took my bow and I sent an arrow through his throat. And seeing as I used one of my more minor attacks, it only ripped through his throat instead of taking off his head. He drowned in his own blood. It was a very interesting sound, a demon drowning."

With the flip of his wrist, he tossed the watch back at a slightly wide-eyed Yohji.

Far leaned over to Ken. "I think I'm concerned," he murmured.

Ken paled slightly.

* * *

_We have written a short, 3 chapter fic that illustrates Toma and Shayna's first meeting and subsequent quest. To read it, visit our profile and select "One Night Out." Don't worry about not completely understanding it. We're not using much more than the characters. _

_For author notes and reviewer responses, see our livejournal at http:// silvenstarlight . livejournal . com/ . Please visit our website at (note – best viewed with Internet Explorer)._


	5. Sleep of Death

**READER NOTICE! **

**We've changed our author name from 'Ptath' to Mayhem21. I'm sure you noticed, but we thought it would be a good idea to leave y'all a note. We did this because there's three of us involved, not just me, Ptath. We've been talking about doing this for a while and just got around to doing it. **

**Also, if you want an email alert and don't want to leave a review here, leave us a message on the LiveJournal. Or email us. Which ever you feel most comfortable with. **

**Ok, you can go on to the story now. **

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Improbability Factor: Chapter Five – Sleep of Death**

_By Ptath and Thalia _

_Beta-ed by Thalia_

_Inspired and assisted by Lady Raina_

_**Disclaimer**__: We do not own Weiss. Even if we could, simple self-preservation would dictate we stay far, far away. _

_**Email updates available**__. If you wish to receive email notification when we post an update to this, or any other, story, please leave us a review or send us an email containing an email address and a screen name._

_**Rating alert:**__ This story is rated 'M' because of language, violent scenes and mature themes. Very mature themes. _

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

'This' mean thinking to one's self ('Time to introduce myself')

'_This' means talking telepathically ('hello, my name is George,')_

"This" _means talking out loud _("I like cats.")

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**FARFARELLO SAY: **Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**9 am, Koneko, Dining Room, last week of January**

Aya looked up in surprise when Yohji suddenly stomped into the room, bleary eyed and cranky. "Did Hiro the Cat wake you up again?" she asked innocently.

"Yes, she did," the blonde muttered as he looked for the coffee pot. "I locked the door. I shut the window. I had Schu verify that that blasted feline was in Brad's office. So tell me, _how did she get in_?"

"She's a cat. If she wants in, she can get in," Aya replied in a patient voice.

"I…the doors….window…"

"Yohji, perhaps if you were to use complete sentences, we could understand you," Ran's voice suddenly drifted out from behind the blonde.

Yohji spun around, his mind making a sudden connection. "You did it," he growled, eyes blazing.

"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," the red-head replied as he tried to edge around the other assassin.

"Oh, I think you do," Yohji countered, moving to block Ran. "You're the only one with the ability to do it and a twisted enough brain to come up with the idea."

Ran looked up at Yohji, annoyance beginning to form on his face. "Unless you intend to inform me of what you're accusing me of, _move_."

Yohji continued to glare, refusing to budge.

Ran sighed. "Yohji, you need to tell me. You're projecting meaningless grumbling, so I have no way of inferring what this is about."

A frown appeared on the playboy's face. This wasn't how Ran reacted when he was guilty. Ran dug in his heels and refused to admit or deny anything. If you wanted a confession, he made you work for it.

Soft steps were suddenly heard on the stairs. A blue head suddenly appeared in the room. "Morning, everyone," Toma said in a chipper voice. He gave Yohji a wide-eyed, innocent look. "How did you sleep, Yohji?"

"How did…why you little…it was you!"

Ran groaned to himself. If he moved, Yohji would probably attack Toma. His cousin was gleefully, and silently, informing him how he'd dared to rouse the blonde before noon on a Saturday. Ran sighed softly. He was never going to get breakfast.

"You're up early," Brad commented without glancing out from behind his paper. "You usually sleep even longer than Yohji does on the weekends."

"Oh, I haven't gone to bed yet," Toma corrected as he edged past Ran and the infuriated Yohji to take a seat next to Aya. "Got a new book yesterday. Had to finish it."

Ran ignored the banter making its way around the table. Pushing Yohji into a chair far from Toma, he grabbed a mug of coffee and shoved it in front of the blonde. He was getting breakfast even if he had to kill (or perhaps merely maim) one of his teammates.

Ken and Farfarello wandered down a few minutes later. Taking in the dark looks Yohji was still throwing at Toma and the blissful innocence Aya's cousin was radiating … "It's too early for this sort of thing," he groaned as he dropped into a chair. "Can someone promise that there won't be death threats at the table this time?"

"Strife hurts God," Far said innocently. "I didn't even have to make that one up," he added.

"Good for you," Ken muttered.

"I take it Yohji was today's victim?" Shay asked as she and Schu appeared in the dining room.

"This morning's," Toma confirmed. When he saw the incredulous looks aimed at him, he put his coffee mug down. "You have me working in a freakin' flower shop. _I'm bored_. You want this to stop, _find me something REAL to do_. However, as long as you leave me to entertain myself, _this is what you can expect_." His piece said, he returned to his breakfast.

Aya looked at Brad. "Find him something to do," she said in an ominous voice.  
"I will not have him destroying my house."

"I never said I would destroy the house. I haven't even been pranking people on a daily basis. The house is in no way threatened."

"Yet," Schu muttered.

The conversation lagged at that point. Eventually, Nagi, Omi and Sakura stumbled into the dining room yawning and still half asleep.

Brad looked over his paper at the three teenagers. His eyes suddenly went distant as a vision suddenly washed over him. A few seconds later, he gave himself a slight shake and took an automatic look at his watch. After folding the paper and laying it next to his plate, the precog reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet and withdrew the black platinum card, which he promptly passed to his wife.

"The boys are done growing," he said as he picked his paper up once more. "Go get them clothes that fit."

Nagi's eyes opened from their half-shut position. Omi stared at the precog in shock.

"I can get my own clothes," the blonde stated indignantly.

"Omi, your fashion sense sucks," Sakura interrupted. "If those oversized shorts and strange shirts can even be called fashion sense."

Yohji snickered into his coffee cup. Suddenly, the day was looking up. "Don't worry, if Omi needs new clothes, I'd be happy to lend a hand."

"No, that's not necessary," Omi stuttered. He gave Nagi a wild look.

"I'm sure you're busy," Nagi added. "Aya will take care of us."

"He's going and you're taking Ken," Brad said from behind his paper.

"What?" Ken demanded.

"If you and Nagi are to double each other effectively, you will need to have the same clothes." Brad laid his paper down, a serious look on his face. "The doubling will not just be during missions. It will be during our downtime. We need Esset to be uncertain if they're looking at you or Nagi at all times. To do that effectively, you need to be able to dress the same."

"Ken," Yohji began, a suspicious gleam in his eyes, "say goodbye to all those soccer jerseys."

"I'm coming too," Sakura declared. "There's no way I'm missing this. Besides, it's been a while since I went shopping."

"Shay, you should go too. Have an experience, have a day at the mall," Toma said as he glanced at the woman.

"Goodness knows Toma certainly doesn't know how to shop," Aya added. "He grabs the first thing that looks good and makes for the bookstore!"

Ken groaned, knowing that he couldn't win. He gave Far a hopeful look. "Please tell me you're coming. If we work together, I might be able to get away."

"I need him here," Brad corrected. "Someone needs to be in the shop."

"Isn't that what you have Ran and Schu for?"

"Someone needs to make deliveries," Ran said.

Despite the various protests put up by the boys, the shopping expedition was put into motion. Twenty minutes later, everyone was heading back down to the second floor to receive their marching orders. Yohji volunteered to drive the teenagers in Schu's Mustang (which was being borrowed for the extra seats), leaving Ken with Aya and Shay in Ran's Challenger (being borrowed for the same reason with Aya driving).

Toma watched the assembly from the sitting room with an amused look on his face. As the group began to walk out, however, Yohji threw an arm around Shay's shoulders, commenting that if she stuck with him, she'd have a great time. After which, he threw a wink over his shoulder at Toma.

"Just remember that you started it," Ran commented from another chair.

"Yeah, I know, I know," Toma stated, gnawing on his lip. He glanced at his cousin. "Wanna help me get even?"

"Not a chance in hell," Ran replied. He stood up and gave the other man an amused look. "Like I said, you started this. You get to finish it. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go help Schu and Far open the shop."

"Be that way," Toma muttered at the red-head's back. "You're on the list now." He glanced down at his watch and decided to head on over to Brad's office.

**(10:10 am)**

Without bothering to knock, he strolled in and seated himself in front of the desk. "So," he began cheerfully, "I have a feeling that you wanted to talk to me."

"I did," Brad said slowly. "You said earlier that you were bored."

"Totally and completely."

"Well, if you wish to do more than work in the shop and train Yohji and Sakura, then I will need to know more about your abilities," the precog said as he leaned back in his chair. "Kritiker hasn't given us a mission since before New Years, but I expect that will change soon."

"And you need to know exactly what I can do so that you can plan accordingly," Toma replied, nodding his head.

"Exactly."

"All right. First off," the blue-haired man began, "you need to know that I don't have Talent. At least, not like yours. Kind of. Not. It's…I'll let you decide. What I do is magic. Which is real. And no, I'm not crazy." He gave the blank faced precog a stern look. "You want to say it isn't real, then you better start coming up with an explanation for what it was exactly that the Elders of Esset were doing. 'Cause that wasn't Talent.

The Elders were summoning a demon. I take care of demons. I've been doing it since I was fourteen. All you need to know is that I do have some tricks hidden up my sleeve, as it were."

"And why don't you wish to tell me what those tricks are?" Brad demanded as he gave Toma a stern look.

Toma merely shrugged. "Because magic attracts more magic. The low-level stuff I've been doing around here passes unnoticed. The bigger stuff, like what was happening when I met Shay, does attract attention. And we have enough on our plates without throwing in some megalomaniac demons. "

Brad studied Toma, silently trying to decide if he was crazy, spinning a story or actually telling the truth.

"Basically, just keep in mind that I'm what's referred to as a Wind Mage. And Shay is an Earth Mage. With very low-level telepathic abilities. Now, aside from the magic, here's what you need to know. I practice archery, I'm excellent at hand-to-hand and my weapon of choice is a scythe. Which is a new acquisition. What I can't do is fire a gun. Well, I've never fired a gun. I don't think it'd be hard, however."

Omi was an archer and the hand-to-hand abilities had been assumed. The scythe, however…"A scythe?" Brad asked cautiously.

"Shay insisted that I get a bladed weapon instead of just hitting people with my bow. I've mostly got it down. Like I said, it's new."

Toma had a bland look on his face. It was obvious that he believed every word he had just said. Given the immediate acceptance Ran and Aya had given his earlier comments, Brad knew that he'd have to take him at his word. Well, mostly.

"So, anything else I need to know?" Brad finally asked.

"I really don't want to sound arrogant, but I am exceptionally intelligent. I have an IQ that runs around 230 depending on how much effort I decide to put into a test on any given day. I've never had a piano lesson in my life, but if you were to sit me in front of one and give me Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven I could play the piece with few mistakes. My memory is practically eidetic, and if you let me watch someone doing a task long enough I can imitate it with a fair amount of accuracy. I like challenges, so it's usually pretty difficult to keep me from getting bored. If you want to keep me occupied, the best thing you can do is give me a pretty difficult task that must be completed in a seemingly impossible amount of time and I'm good. That is when I thrive."

Nonplussed, Brad nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Now, if you really need something to do, then you are welcome to take a look at the books for the Koneko." When he saw Toma perk up with interest, he continued. "I've maintained them, but with everything that's been going on with Kritiker and Esset, they haven't received the attention they deserve for several months."

"Sounds great!" Toma exclaimed. When Brad fished the records out of his desk, he grabbed the stack, flipped the first one open and began to read even as he wandered out of the office.

Ran, who had been walking towards the door, quickly moved to one side to avoid being run over. Shaking his head in wry amusement, he walked into the office.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**10:30 am, Suttafu Mall**

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Ken exclaimed. "I don't want clubbing clothes, I don't need clubbing clothes and I refuse to go try some on!"

"This isn't for you, it's for missions," Yohji countered. "We've had to go to clubs in the past, we will in the future and damned if I want to keep having to run all over Tokyo during the late afternoon trying to find you something to wear later that night!"

"You have to get us there, first," Nagi declared, a dangerous light appearing in his eyes.

"We're not budging," Omi added.

Aya shook her head in amusement while Sakura fought to suppress a grin.

"How about this," Shay suddenly said. "Yohji, you know what sizes the boys are. Why don't you go pick some things out while we continue here?"

"I think I could do that," Yohji mused as he studied the ceiling. "I've got a pretty good idea about what's 'in' right now, I can pick out whatever I want and they have to be happy with it!" He grinned at the horrified looking boys. "Sounds good to me."

"Never mind, we'll go," Omi said in a sick voice.

"Excellent," Yohji said with glee.

"Shay and I will stay here," Aya added. "We'll guard the bags and pick out some more clothes."

"Don't worry," Shay called after the group now headed to a darkly lit store that was pumping out very loud music, "we'll only have two or three stacks for each of you."

Once the group had disappeared into the store, Shay and Aya looked at each other and promptly burst out laughing.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**10:33 am, Koneko, Brad's office**

"Do you have us all scheduled to come talk to you somewhere?" Ran asked as he walked into the office. "It's seems very convenient that you and Toma should finish just as I was walking in."

"It merely seems to work out that way," Brad replied with a shrug. "I have very little to do with it."

"Compared to what you were like when we were fighting over a year ago, this seems to be rather out of character," Ran commented.

"There really is no point in trying to predict what happens in this house," Brad said. "My visions also tend to focus more on events than people. And even less on the people close to me."

Ran raised a curious eyebrow. That last comment was perhaps more revealing that Brad had intended. The precog tended to focus more on the team than the individuals, something that went against everything Ran believed. But that comment hinted that Brad Crawford cared more than he let on.

"Is there something in particular you wished to talk about?" Brad asked after a moment of silence. "Last time you were here, you dropped a rather large bombshell. I hope you're not planning on doing that again."

"No," the telepath replied, shaking his head. "I came here to thank you."

"For?"

"Taking care of Schu after we were separated." Violet eyes pierced Brad's dark brown. "I know what state he was in after the separation. I know how much work it must have taken to make him a coherent, functioning individual again. That took a lot of patience and care, and since I couldn't be there to take care of him, I felt that I owed you something."

"You don't owe me a thing," Brad replied, trying to hide his sudden discomfort. "I did what I had to do to make Schwarz succeed." Which was true, to an extent. At the beginning, Oracle had been focused more on using Schuldig. But that had changed …

Ran suppressed the flare of anger that ran through him at those words. He did not appreciate hearing that someone he cared about had been used as a means to an end. And to say that after admitting that he cared about the members of Schatten … it made no sense. Not when they were talking about Schu.

"I guess I was mistaken. I won't waste anymore of your time," Ran said in a short, cold voice. Without another word, he turned on his heel and strode from the room.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**2:37 pm, Suttafu Mall**

"So we should meet at that restaurant in the East corner of the mall at 5:30?" Sakura asked as she finished her lunch.

"Yes, we'll meet there for dinner and decide where to go next," Aya confirmed.

"How about going back home?" Omi asked in a mournful voice.

"We're just getting started, Omittchi," Yohji said. "We weren't able to get nearly as much of your shopping done as we were Nagi and Ken."

While Omi groaned, Shay raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Omittchi?" she asked.

"_He_ gave me that nickname," Omi responded accusingly as he pointed at Yohji. "Ask _him _where he came up with it."

"I had to call you something and it sounded good," Yohji explained. "Same for Ken-Ken and Ayan. And you responded with Yotan, remember?"

Nagi shook his head and, rising from his seat, began to gather the remains of his lunch. "I'm heading over to the computer store. Who wants to come with me?"

"I will," Omi volunteered.

"Aya and I are going to the bookstore," Ken said, shaking his head.

"Shay?" Nagi asked, looking at the auburn-haired woman.

She grinned. "Because of Toma I've been in enough bookstores to last me a lifetime. Count me in."

"You kids have fun, Omittchi, chibi," Yohji grinned. Nagi promptly shot him a dark look. "I was thinking about taking Sakura out so that she could do some shopping. The poor thing's been the runner all morning. She deserves to treat herself."

"Oh, but I didn't really bring-" Sakura began.

"I've got it," Yohji interrupted.

"No, it's fine," she protested. "Really. I don't mind being the runner. I'm in track, after all. And I enjoy helping out. We can go do something you want to do."

"Well, what I want to do is take you out shopping," Yohji countered, still smiling. "Now that we're agreed, what store would you like to start in?"

"Well, I do need some new sneakers," she began after a moment's hesitation.

"Then off to the shoe store," Yohji proclaimed with a sweeping gesture. Everyone gathered their trash, threw it away and headed for their respective destinations. "So how's your training with Toma going?" he asked her as they walked out of the food court.

Sakura blinked for a moment and cocked her head to one side as she thought. "Oh, well, we're still working on the very basics. He told me that before I can work on training my power, I need to be aware of what it feels like to use it." She giggled suddenly. "He's walked up to me so many times when I'm studying and told me that I was slowing things down so that I would have more time. I hadn't realized how often I did that."

The green-eyed blonde laughed. "I know the feeling," he said. "I'll be talking to Shayna and she'll suddenly ask me how I know whatever it is we're talking about." He shook his head wonderingly. "I've always just known things, all my life. Who'd have thought that I was picking it up from the world around me? It's almost creepy," he finally admitted.

As they neared the store, Sakura bit her lip and gave Yohji a sideways look. "What exactly is going on between us?" she carefully asked. "I know it's not romantic or anything," she added with a slight blush. "I mean, are we friends or am I just a replacement for Asuka?"

Yohji looked at her in surprise. "No, not at all," he insisted. "This is … it's just the way I show I care. After all, I can't focus on myself _all_ the time," he added with a laugh.

Sakura gave him an amused smile. Whatever he was feeling, it was obvious that he didn't feel comfortable talking about it yet. She'd ask him again later.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Omi and Nagi were chattering merrily between themselves while Shay walked slightly behind them as they headed towards the mall computer store, silently marveling on how much they'd changed over just the three weeks she'd known them.

'I think Nagi's managed to grow three inches and Omi four,' she thought to herself in amusement. 'On top of the two inches Ran mentioned they'd already grown since Schatten was first formed.'

She moved closer to them so that she could hear better. She still had trouble using computers and, while she would never admit it to anyone, she was hoping to pick up a few things.

Suddenly noticing that a bit of Omi's hair was sticking up, she reached out to smooth it down.

The blonde gave her a wide-eyed look.

"It's was messed up," she said simply. "I fixed it." Now moving ahead of them, she began to lead the way to the rapidly approaching store.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ken and Aya took their time walking out of the food court towards the bookstore. "So, how are your classes going?" he asked. "You just started your spring semester, right?"

"They're going fine," Aya replied thoughtfully. "I've been having plenty of time to study…" she paused for a moment. "If the missions pick back up, I'm not sure how well that will go," she finally admitted.

"Yeah, Birman hasn't been around for a while, has she?" Ken murmur, a slightly distant look appearing in his eyes as his cheeks colored slightly.

Aya perked up noticeably. "You'd noticed?" she inquired in an innocent voice.

"I, well, we haven't had any missions and she brings the tapes and…" Ken's voice trailed off and the faint blush brightened.

"And what?"

"And…well, you know," he muttered. He gave her a pleading look. "Please don't tell anyone. I'll never live it down. Yohji will torment me, Schu will torment me….who knows what Toma will do…"

Aya laughed. "You have my word that I won't tell a soul," she promised. "But can I give you a little advice?" At Ken's questioning look, she continued. "It might help if you actually talked to her."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**2:43 pm, Koneko**

Toma stretched his arms over his head as he wandered into the kitchen to get some water. He'd been going over the Koneko's books for about four hours and had decided to take a break. As he retrieved a glass and turned on the tap, he couldn't help but marvel at how quiet the building was.

'That's right,' he suddenly realized. 'Almost everyone is out shopping.' His tired mind mulled over that revelation for a few moments. 'Now's probably a good time to talk to Schu,' he thought.

Draining the glass, he placed it in the sink and headed for the stairs. Once he reached the first floor, he walked through the garage, through the backroom and onto the Koneko's main floor.

"Hey, Ran, mind if I borrow Schu for about thirty minutes tops?" he asked

His cousin gave him a curious look before shrugging. "It's a slow day," he said. "Go ahead."

"Don't I get a say in all this?" the German demanded from his place behind the till.

"I, well, I suppose I could give you a say, but I need you to say the same thing and you might say something different. So I had to take away your say."

Schu stared at Toma for a long moment. "What are you on?"

Ran laughed softly. "It's not a question of what he's on, it's a question of what he's not on. And that would be sleep." He looked at Schu in amusement. "Toma gets rather strange when he's sleep deprived."

"And that's different from when he's not sleep deprived how?" demanded the other telepath.

"It's very different," Toma explained. "Now! Time to go! Upstairs! My room!"

The pair made their way up to the third floor without incident. Once they reached Toma's room, Schu pulled the door shut while Toma walked over to his dresser and pulled something out of it, which he promptly stuck in his pocket.

Schu glanced around the room curiously. The bed was covered in official looking books and scraps of paper with note scrawled over them. The rest of the room had piles of clothes and books here and there.

"I know it looks messy, but I do know where everything is," Toma said as he turned around. "Please, have a seat."

Once Schu had seated himself on the bed, Toma began to fidget slightly, wanting to pace back and forth.

"I wanted to talk to you before you could come up with any misconceptions." Blue eyes looked at the German sitting on the bed. "Shay and I did live together for a year and a half. She had just returned to this world and had nowhere else to go. And we did spend most of that time looking for you." He paused for a moment, his eyes suddenly widening. "I mean, nothing happened. We're a couple, but nothing's happened! Not like that! I just, uh, wanted to clear that up and, um…"

Schu could only stare at him for a moment before he saw the perfect opening. "And why hasn't anything happened? Isn't she good enough for you? Is there something wrong with my sister or are you just stringing her along?"

Toma looked up suddenly and started talking quickly again. "No, it's nothing like that. I would never . . . it's just that Shay doesn't always understand everything all the time. I mean she was gone for a really long time and she's still learning how all this works and I don't want to take advantage of that so I've been trying not to move too fast or anything and I really don't want there to be a misunderstanding and it hurting her and messing things up because I really care about her and I don't want to mess this up." The blue-haired warrior finally stopped to fish something out of his pocket. "I even got her this, but I haven't given it to her yet because I wanted to talk to you first. Also, I'm really not sure it's good enough. Here why don't you take a look? If it's not good enough I can take it back and get another." He held out the small velvet box which Schu took.

When the German opened the box, he got quite the surprise. The ring was definitely good enough. In fact, it was stunning, gorgeous even. He was sure Shayna would love it.

Finally he looked back up at Toma, but before he could get a word in Toma started up again, but a little calmer this time. "Look, I love Shayna very much, and I would really like to have your blessing before I ask her to marry me."

Schu handed back the velvet box and looked Toma straight in the eye. "Then you have it," he said simply.

It was Toma's turn to be a little shocked. "Really?" he asked softly.

"Everything you have just told me is everything I need to know. You rescued her and brought her back to Earth. You made sure she was safe and helped her look for me. It also appears there has been more than one opportunity for you to take advantage of her, but you haven't. It's clear from watching you two that she also cares about you a great deal and more than anything else I want her to be happy. So, you have my blessing and may pop the question any time you wish." Schu paused here a moment before continuing in slightly more threatening manner. "But rest assured that if you hurt her, there will be nothing that will save you from, and no end to, the damage that I will inflict."

"I would never hurt her," Toma said very seriously.

The telepath smiled at him and winked, "That's what I'm counting on." He rose to leave. "I had better get back down stairs. I suggest you take a nap or something before the others return though. Honestly, you're kind of frightening when you haven't slept." With that, Schu left.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**7:03 pm, Koneko**

Schu gnawed on his lip as his eyes flickered back and forth between Ran and Brad. For some reason, the red-head had been firing angry looks at the precog, looks that Brad was ignoring. More than ignoring, in fact. He'd pulled on his 'I'm-better-than-the-world-so-you-mean-nothing' guise, something the German hadn't seen since they left Esset.

He cast a despairing look at Far. Like the others who had remained at the Koneko, he was sprawled on a chair in the sitting room. Unlike Brad, Ran and Schu, who had all found a book to read (or to pretend to read), Far was staring absently at the ceiling, thinking quietly to himself while he absently twirled a very long, narrow knife in his fingers.

Schu let his eyes drift back to the open page of his book. He'd been reading the same paragraph over and over again since he'd dragged Brad out of his office over an hour ago. He didn't know what had made Ran so mad at Brad and wasn't sure he _wanted_ to know.

The sound of a door slamming on the floor below suddenly echoed through the quiet building. Aya could be heard calling out that they'd returned from the mall. Suddenly, pounding feet could be heard on the third floor. As the shoppers reached the second floor and began to disembark, Toma flew down the steps.

"Hey, Shay, you're back!" he exclaimed as he bounded towards the startled woman. "So, how was it, what'd you think, have a good time? What'd you get?" he asked in rapid-fire speech, his eyes glowing with a wild light as he caught her around the waist and swung her around.

Shay gave him a despairing look as she tried to stop him. "I thought I told you to take a nap," she demanded.

"I did too," Schu called out as he twisted around to watch the exchange. "Obviously he didn't listen."

"I'm fine!" Toma insisted with a dismissive flick of his fingers. He turned back to Shay, grinning. "Brad gave me the books to the Koneko. They're a mess and I get to fix them!"

"Considering your current state of mind, is that really a good idea?" Shay questioned. She shook her head. "You're hopeless. Here," she said as she shoved a bag in his hand. "Help me carry this upstairs."

Brad sighed to himself. "And for some reason, I really don't think I'll find any mistakes in the books."

"Of course not," Aya stated as she walked up to him. "He gave you the IQ speech, didn't he?"

"What?"

"He pulled that a lot when we were growing up," she explained. "It's all true, but it was also the only way he could get anyone to take him seriously. Otherwise, he'd just be the son of that crazy and brilliant scientist who managed to turn his hair blue."

"Do I even want to know?" Brad asked.

"About the hair? Well, even if you did want to know, no one's been able to figure out what exactly happened." Aya's eyes glowed with laughter. "All we know is that his father was doing some kind of experiment, something exploded and his hair had been turned blue. And when Toma was born, he also ended up with blue hair."

"That can't be possible," Brad muttered. He shook his head. He was not going to waste his time on debating the possibility of accidental genetic manipulation. "Did you pick up my glasses?" he asked.

Aya grinned and perched herself in his lap, twinning her arms around his neck. "Yes, but the prescription wasn't updated. I got you contacts instead." She gave him a deep look. "I miss seeing your eyes," she added in a soft voice.

While Aya began to lecture her husband on the virtues of contact lenses, Ran followed the others upstairs and was promptly cornered by Omi and Nagi, who started peppering him with details about the new games they'd gotten at the computer store.

After several minutes of specs, features and details about games he would never play, Ran raised a hand to interrupt them. "What about the shopping you went out to do?" he asked.

Omi gave him a sour look. "Yohji was a nightmare. He insisted we get clubbing clothes and dragged us into a darkly lit store with pounding music. How are you supposed to pick out clothes when you can't even tell what color they are?"

"You have clubbing clothes?" Ran asked curiously.

"Don't even go there," Omi snapped.

"What about when you weren't shopping for clubbing clothes?"

"The dressing rooms were crowded, the salespeople were pushy, no one would let me pick anything because I apparently have awful taste in clothes…" Omi gave him a despairing look. "Is it really that bad?"

Ran bit back the laughter trying to push its way to the surface.

Upon seeing the red-head's struggle, Omi groaned. "Why didn't anyone tell me? I take criticism well. I'm always willing to listen to other people's opinions. I …"

"Nagi, how did things go for you," Ran asked hastily.

"It went fine," the kinetic replied with a shrug. "It was exhausting, but I liked it. It was fun."

"Traitor," Omi muttered.

At that, Ran couldn't help but laugh. Downstairs, they could hear Yohji and Schu laughing while Ken did his best to defend himself.

"We'll be expecting a fashion show," the German's voice said as it drifted up the stairs, quickly followed by another explosion from Ken.

Sakura and Farfarello suddenly appeared on the stairs and walked by the trio, both laden with bags. Grinning, she stuck her tongue out at Omi. "Wimp," she called as she rounded the corner.

"Thanks for helping me carry everything up," she said to the Irish-man. "I think Yotan went a little bit overboard."

"It's fine," Far replied as he set the bags down on her bed and sat down next to them.

"So how did your day go?" Sakura asked as she began putting things away.

Far looked at her in surprise. No one ever asked him how his day went. "Well," he began hesitantly, "the deliveries went well. I didn't run over anything this time, so we won't have to worry about cleaning the delivery bike."

Sakura looked at him in horror.

"I was joking," he added quickly. "I've never run over anything. Really." He gave her an innocent look. "What else," he murmured. "Oh! Ran's mad at Brad for something and Schu and I can't figure out why."

"What?" Sakura asked in surprise. "They were fine this morning!"

"Like I said, we don't know why," Far replied with a shrug. "And asking Toma won't help. He's been holed up in his room all day working on the books for the Koneko." He gave her an expectant look. "How did shopping go?" he asked.

"It went rather well, I think," she replied. "It was exhausting but fun. I liked being able to hang out with everyone. We got Omi out of those awful shorts and I got to spend time with Yohji…" Here she paused for a moment. "He seems rather lonely," she added thoughtfully.

"He does, doesn't he?" Far murmured in agreement. He glanced in the direction of the stairs when Ken's voice was suddenly heard again, yelling at Yohji to knock it off or else he'd knock him out. "I'd better go keep blood from being spilled," Far said thoughtfully as he rose from the bed. "And they say that _I'm_ the crazy one?"

Sakura laughed as he walked out the door. Several minutes later, after she had finished putting away her new belongings, Nagi suddenly poked his head in the room.

"Got a minute?" he asked.

"Sure," Sakura replied, looking at him curiously.

"Is everything okay?" He asked in a slightly hesitant voice as he walked into the room.

"Everything's fine," she replied looking confused, "why?"

Nagi bit his lip. "It's just … when we were in the food court having lunch and Yohji offered to take you shopping, you seemed a bit reluctant. He hasn't, you know, been bothering you or anything has he? Because if he has. . ." he trailed off and his eyes began to glow dangerously.

Sakura was quick to shake her head. "No, it's nothing like that at all. It's just that I'm not really used to people doing things for me, and I don't expect it from anyone here." Sakura gave Nagi a serious look. "Yohji has always been very respectful of me, and has really tried to make me feel comfortable and welcome ever since I moved in." A small smile suddenly crossed her face "It's nice that our powers are connected. I have someone to talk to that really understands what it's like, and he's a great listener."

"So you two had a good time?" Nagi questioned skeptically.

"It was really great," came her honest reply which was accompanied by a smile.

"I'm glad," the kinetic said. "It's … I just wanted you to know that, you know, if something ever happened, I'm here. I'll listen and do whatever I can to help." He gave her a hesitant look, inching towards her.

Sakura stared into Nagi's dark blue eyes, feeling a blush rising on her cheeks. An eager silence filled the room, and suddenly she could feel his hand brushing hers and he was leaning towards her while she leaned towards him. And then there was nothing but the feeling of his lips brushing against hers.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**9:30 pm**

Aya knocked on Nagi's door and smiled slightly when it swung open silently. When she entered, she saw the kinetic sitting on his bed with his computer. The door closed softly behind her as Nagi looked up to give her his full attention.

"Nagi," she began, "There's something I want to discuss with you. I know you will be of age in less than a year, but I was wondering how you would feel about Brad and I adopting you."

Over the past year the kinetic had become fairly good at controlling his powers when under extreme emotional stress. This control was especially important in a house so full of surprises, but this simple sentence was too much for him. The lights died throughout the Koneko as the breaker box exploded. Prepared as always, Aya switched on the flashlight she'd brought with her. In the light, she could see Nagi's still shocked expression. She waited patiently for him to speak. As they sat in a stunned silence the lights flickered back to life. The sudden brightening of the room was enough to bring Nagi out of his trance.

"I told Brad something like this might happen," the empath said calmly. "I also told Ran, so he'll keep everyone from pounding down the door to make certain we're alright."

"Crawford wants to adopt me?" Nagi asked in stunned surprised.

"Actually, I haven't talked to him about it yet," Aya replied. "I wanted to know how you felt first."

"He won't want to," he stated matter-of-factly.

Aya's eyes went wide in shock. Did he really think he meant that little to Brad? "That's not true. Brad cares about you very much, Nagi. When Esset left that note for you at school, he was very worried about you and it bothered him even more that you didn't feel like you could talk to him about what was bothering you." She paused to let her words sink in before continuing. "I don't want you to feel forced into this though. I want this to be something you want."

"You don't have to do this," Nagi said, his face slightly pale.

"I want to do this." She said with a smile. "I want to do it for you, but you have to tell me what you want. You don't have to be afraid to say what you want anymore. You don't work for Esset and there is no danger. So, just tell me what you want."

She watched as the little boy inside Nagi came to the surface. She saw the scared, lost, lonely little boy he had once been emerge and whisper, "I want a family."

He hadn't meant to say it. He had been afraid to say it. Afraid that if he said it out loud Aya would reveal that it had all been a cruel joke, even though he knew she would never do that.

With this quiet admission, she reached over and hugged him. "I'm glad to hear it," she said with a soft smile. "I'll talk with Brad tonight and then we can all talk about it together tomorrow when you come home from school."

He nodded. She was about to leave when the teenager spoke.

"Aya?"

"Yes?"

"If Crawford says yes, will it be okay if I call you Mom?"

She beamed at him. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Brad and Aya's Bathroom**

"What is it that you want to talk about?" Brad asked as he squeezed toothpaste onto his toothbrush.

"You know I hate it when you do that," Aya complained.

"Do what?" the precog asked playfully.

"You know what," the Japanese woman stated giving her husband a Look.

The precog suppressed a grin as he began to brush his teeth. His Sight was one of the few advantages he had in this household. Nothing could make him give it up, not even his wife. "So…" he prompted.

"I was just talking with Nagi," Aya began, "and I think we should adopt him."

The bathroom mirror was suddenly covered in toothpaste, spewed by one very shocked Brad Crawford. He clutched at the counter for a moment before reaching for a towel to wipe away the excess toothpaste around his mouth. He hadn't seen this coming. He hadn't Seen this coming either for that matter. Why hadn't he Seen this coming? Then something dawned on him.

"You blocked this didn't you?"

"Please don't be angry, sweetheart." Aya began in a wheedling tone. "I really needed to know how Nagi felt about it first before I came to you."

"And how does he feel about it?" Brad asked as he frowned at the speckled mirror.

The empath shook her head. "I need to know how you feel about it first," she said.

The precog reached out to wipe the mirror clean. "You know I would love to adopt Nagi if I thought he wanted it, but what about the team? What kind of precedent is this going to set? Are we going to try and adopt Omi next?"

"Damn it, Brad," Aya snarled, "for once would you stop thinking about the team and think about Nagi? He needs this. Don't you understand? He needs someone to choose him for _him_. Not for what he can do for the _team_. And how many times have you told me that you wish you could be his father sometimes instead of having to be his leader? Everyone else in this house has had a real family except Nagi. Almost everyone else has memories of parents that loved them unconditionally. Sakura still even gets to see her mother from time to time. How do you think it must feel not to know the unconditional love of a parent? Or anyone for that matter? This is the only thing Nagi has ever really wanted and we can give it to him. I want us to give it to him." She watched Brad carefully, trying to gauge his reaction to her sudden outburst. She was beginning to wonder if perhaps Nagi had been right.

Finally he spoke. "Then we will."

"We will?" Aya asked, honestly a little shocked.

He stood and walked over so he could hold her. "Of course. You're right, he has always been like a son to me. Why not make it official? Besides, Nagi deserves a family too."

"So, we're really going to do this then?"

"Yes, sweetheart, we're really going to do this." With that he leaned down and kissed her. "Should we go tell him?"

"No, I told him we would talk about it tomorrow. He didn't think you would agree to this, and I really don't think the house can absorb the result of Nagi in a state of shock right now."

Brad shook his head in slight disbelief. "He really told you that he didn't think I would want to adopt him?"

"Yes, he did."

"This is going to take some time, isn't it?"

"Don't all things that are important?"

A smile flickered across Brad's face. "Did you come up with this all by yourself?'

"No, actually," Aya replied in a pleased voice. "This was mostly Ran's idea. He really cares about Nagi and wants him to be happy, but he knows he can't give Nagi what he needs. He also knows how much you care about him. One night he and I were talking and it just sort of came up. The more I thought about it the more I knew he was right."

Brad looked thoughtful. "We'll have to thank him."

"Yes, I think we will."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**1:24 am, TV Room**

Ran studied Toma out of the corner of his eye. The other man had challenged him to a few races on the game console and, anticipating the eventual collapse of his exhausted cousin, Ran had accepted.

The room was dark, filled only with the flickering light from the television. Toma rambled on, letting whatever stray thought that entered his mind emerge. The stream of consciousness, however, came to the occasional pause as he struggled for a word here and there while he struggled to remain awake. Ran rolled his eyes mentally and deliberately set to losing the race.

"Game over," he said when Toma's character crossed the finish line. "Bed time."

"What?" Toma asked in a startled voice, blinking furiously. "Nonsense. The night is still young. What's a few more hours?"

"You will be spending those hours asleep," Ran corrected as he gently pried the controller from long-fingered hands. After turning off the console and setting the TV to the correct channel, he turned to his cousin.

Toma's eyes fluttered closed every few seconds as he fought the exhaustion creeping through his limbs.

"Come on," Ran said. Reaching out, he grabbed the blue-haired man's shoulders and pulled him to his feet. A hand on his elbow kept the archer walking straight until they reached his room. Seeing a pair of pajama pants and a worn t-shirt on the floor, Ran grabbed them and shoved them into Toma's arms. "Go change and get ready for bed," he instructed him.

Once the bathroom door shut, the red-head set to cleaning off the bed. The books, notes and pens were relocated to a clear spot on the floor and the sheets and comforter were straightened.

"You worry too much," Toma muttered when he finally emerged from the bathroom.

Ran merely gave him a mild look and pulled the covers back. "You don't worry enough," he countered. "I know you haven't slept more than four hours in a single night ever since you arrived."

"A minor detail," Toma corrected as he climbed into bed. "Sleep is over-rated," he yawned out as his head hit the pillow and his eyes fluttered shut.

"Of course it is," Ran muttered. "That's why you're out cold." He pulled the covers up to Toma's chin and then shoved his hands into his pockets, studying the sleeping face in silence.

"Why?" he muttered. "Where were you? Why did you suddenly stop talking to me, stop communicating? What made you pick now to show back up?"

The questions that had been building in Ran's mind since New Years Day swirled in his head. He gave his head a sudden sharp shake. It didn't matter. Toma was back. He wasn't mad at Ran or not talking to him. He had Aya, Schu, Weiss and Schwarz now. His family was complete once more.

And nothing else mattered, did it?

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Brad's Office, Next Day, 4:10 pm**

A soft knock heralded Nagi's arrival. 'Right on time,' Brad thought. "Enter."

Nagi walked into the office, casting a nervous eye over Brad and Aya's faces. Unfortunately, both their faces were calm, and gave nothing away as to what they were thinking. But this had to be good, didn't it? They were both here, after all.

"Before we get to our final decision, I just want you to know that we put a lot of time and consideration into this. It was not something we took lightly," Crawford stated in that all-business manner he had when dealing with tasks that needed doing, no matter how pleasant or unpleasant they may be.

Nagi's heart fell but his face remained blank. The answer was no. This was stupid. He had known it would be and had told Aya as much. But part of him had hoped, had whispered how much he wanted a real family. "I understand," he replied his tone neutral.

Aya almost couldn't handle the waves of despair rolling off him, but she sat quietly and let Brad handle the situation as they had agreed.

"There was much to consider," Crawford continued. "There was, of course, the team to consider, Kritiker and the war we have declared against Esset." His brown eyes were serious. "Esset will soon strike back at us, and they will use whatever weapons they can find against us. We need to limit what weapons we hand over to them." A warm smile spread over Brad's features, "Keeping all that in mind, Nagi, we would like to adopt you if it is still something you want."

The sparkle in Nagi's midnight blue eyes was priceless. "Really?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Really," Brad answered with that same smile.

"Yes," Nagi replied shyly. "I would like that very much."

"Then I'll push the paperwork through, and it will all be official by this time next week."

At this, a smile graced Nagi's features that was so beautiful, so childlike, so pure that any doubts that had still lingered for Brad were completely erased. They had done the right thing. He could honestly say he had never seen Nagi this happy and for the first time in a very long while Brad knew he had done a good thing.

Nagi's smile suddenly faded as a look of agitation appeared. "Um . . ." he began rather unsteadily.

Aya jumped in. "What's wrong, Nagi?" she asked in a worried voice.

"Well, remember I asked if I could call you Mom?" Nagi's eyes flickered between Aya and Brad. "I still want to if it's okay, but," here he paused and looked directly at Brad, "is it okay if I just call you Brad for now? I mean, with the team and all it might be kind of awkward, and well . . ."

"That's fine." Brad said reassuringly. "This is going to take some time to adjust to for all of us. We want to make this as smooth a transition as possible, so if it makes you more comfortable to stick with calling me Brad that's fine."

His fears allayed, the smile returned full force. It really was quite beautiful.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Kritiker Headquarters, 4:45 pm**

Birman knocked hesitantly on the door to Persia's office.

"Enter," a deep sure voice devoid of any emotion answered from the space within.

"Sir," she began as she closed the door behind her, "I've been looking over the file that our agents have compiled for Schatten's next mission, and there is clear evidence that this is a trap Esset has put together in order to draw Schatten out into the open."

"Yes, I know." The response was cold, indifferent.

"Sir, that information has not been put in the file that I'm supposed to deliver to them this evening."

"That is correct."

"But sir they're the best lethal team we have. Letting them walk into an ambush could be-"

"There seems to be a misunderstanding here. Allow me to clear it up." Persia's tone was icy as he continued. "You appear to be worrying about issues which are, quite frankly, none of your concern. You are their contact agent, nothing more. You give them the information we tell you to give them and nothing more. If, for any reason, you warn them or tell them anything other than what you have been ordered to, you will find yourself searching for a new job. Assuming, that is, that the organization doesn't feel that more drastic measures are required to rectify your inability to hold your tongue. Do I make myself clear?"

Birman swallowed hard as his tone left no room for argument. "Crystal, sir," she answered in a flat tone.

"Perfect."

"Sir, if I may . . ." when Persia nodded she continued, "why?"

Persia leaned forward as a predatory smile crossed his face, eager to answer her question. "Crawford claims that his team can handle Esset. We will see just how well they 'handle' Esset, but this time they will do so without our help."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Koneko, Dining Room, 7:28 pm**

Most everyone had finished eating when Brad finally began to speak. "I have an announcement to make."

"When do you not," Omi interjected sarcastically.

Brad gave him a dark look at which Omi rolled his eyes but remained silent.

"Aya and I have decided to start a family."

The shocked silence that filled the room was deafening. Brad loved every minute of it.

"Does this mean Aya's pregnant?" Ken asked.

"No, I'm not pregnant," Aya stated firmly. "Honestly, Brad, of all the convoluted ways to make this particular announcement this has got to be the most misleading."

Brad scowled at his wife. "Why is it that everybody in this house gets to screw with everyone else's heads except me? Why don't I ever get have any fun?"

Nagi sighed exasperatedly. At this rate the team would never find out. "Brad and Aya have offered to adopt me."

Again the shock overwhelmed and silence prevailed.

Ran finally spoke up. "Congratulations," the telepath said giving Nagi a warm smile.

"Thank you," came the kinetic's soft response.

Brad cleared his throat to get everyone's attention so he could clarify a few things, "Yes, we are adopting Nagi. Everything will be official by this time next week." Before Brad, or anyone else could say more however, the sound of high heels could be heard on the stairs and Birman appeared shortly.

"You have a mission, all of you," she said simply.

Everyone rose and headed for the briefing room.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Briefing Room, 7:45 pm**

Once everyone had gotten settled, Birman put the mission tape in and let it role.

"Schatten," the image of Persia began, "this is a yakuza drug-lord and arms dealer known only as Niku. He has recently expanded his enterprise to Kyoto and has re-established his headquarters there. To prevent the police from taking action against him, Niku bribed several members of the government and had several more high-officials assassinated. He has also solicited the help of Kobayashi Nai, a highly placed government official."

As Persia's voice spoke, images flashed on the screen of the targets … and the victims of the crime-lord. "Your mission is to dispatch these two men with all speed. Schatten, deny these dark beasts their tomorrow." The screen went black.

"Here is all the background we have on Kobayashi and Niku," Birman said with a blank face as she passed out the mission folders.

"Why are we being sent to Kyoto?" asked Omi in a puzzled tone. "I mean, why can't a local unit take care of them?"

"The operations Niku has set up are too advanced for the Kyoto units." Birman gave them a piercing look. "It's taking longer than we expected to bring the Kyoto units back up to full strength after Esset gutted us two years ago. Schatten is simply the best unit for the job"

Ran flipped through the last pages of the folder with a frown on his face. He looked up at Birman. "This is _everything_ Kritiker has?" he questioned in a sharp voice.

"Yes, it is," came Birman's reply. "Niku has corrupted or killed so many government officials that getting data has been very difficult. You'll have to do some footwork yourself."

Aya looked up at Birman puzzled. "The brief says we're staying in a hotel. Why aren't we staying in a safe house? Isn't it risky having us out in the open like this, and in a public arena no less?"

"Many of the safe houses are currently be used for training purposes, and Kritiker would prefer not to have to mix in an experienced team such as yourselves with novices. Besides, putting a team the size of Schatten into any of the safe houses in use would be very crowded," Birman replied evenly.

"You're afraid we're going to scare them off," Ken stated matter-of-factly.

When Birman didn't respond, Schuldig rolled his eyes, "Okay, fine, but what about the safe houses that aren't in use? What's wrong with those?"

"The ones that aren't currently in use were compromised during all the Esset activity two years ago. While the Tokyo sector of Kritiker did sustain a majority of the damage, Kyoto was fit fairly hard as well. The truth is we just haven't had the time or the resources to go back and resecure those facilities. Also, we figured that since so many members of Schatten have a distinctly gaijin feel, that you all could pose as tourists for the most part. Those of you that blend with the population can simply be on vacation. Are there any other questions?"

When no one else spoke up, Birman looked at the group in satisfaction. "Excellent," she said coolly, "we expect results by the end of the week." With that she turned on her heel and left.

Once he was certain Birman had left the premises, Yohji looked at the group with a wide grin. "Road Trip!" he exclaimed merrily.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Kyoto Hotel, Two Day later, 3:00 pm**

The team had spent a good deal of yesterday afternoon, last evening and the morning doing recognizance work before returning for lunch. After that Brad, Ran, Schu and Toma had spent the last few hours pouring over and compiling all the information, so that they could plan the hit that had to be made in the next two days. The longer they stayed the more likely they were to call attention to themselves and become suspects when the massacre they left behind was discovered. So they needed to do this and fast.

"Alright," Brad began, "I think we would do best to hit both targets simultaneously, much like we did with the smuggling ring."

"That's a bad idea," Ran replied with a shake of his head. "With the numbers we were able to see around Niku, we're going to need everyone when we strike the warehouse. Plus, if we have Sakura leading tactical we don't need her having to split her attention for simultaneous attacks on her first run, even if Nagi is here to back her up. We'd also have to keep at least two of the more experienced people we have out of the attack on the warehouse to deal with Kobayashi. He has too much security to do anything less."

Toma leaned forward. "Ran's right. We also need to consider how we're going to deal with other gangs in the surrounding area of the warehouse. We need to set up an approach that will be unnoticed, but will also keep us clear of as much rival/enemy territory as possible. I think I might have seen a way to do that when Ran and I were checking out the area. I think if we use the river-"

"No," Ran interjected, "the rivers that run through that district are watched very closely by all the groups in the area. A few years back, during all the gang wars, that strategy became a favorite way to attack at night. Eventually, the gang wars forced the police to get involved because they were interfering with the commerce that occurred on the river hurting the local economy. The gangs finally agreed to make the rivers neutral territory and also made them boundaries of sorts. If we use the river, it will cause the wars to break out again and that's the last thing we need."

Brad gave Ran a questioning look, "How do you know all this?"

"I did some work in this part of Kyoto when I was with my original training group."

The precog nodded. "Well, then what would you suggest we do?"

"We use roof tops and the main streets to approach the warehouse."

"Why not the allies?" Schu questioned.

"My guess," Toma said thoughtfully, "is that for the time of night we plan on striking, the back streets and allies will be alive with activity because of the area we'll be in. So, if we stick to the shadows of the main streets we should pass by fairly unnoticed, thus maintaining the element of surprise."

"Exactly," the American telepath said. "And if we start out on the outskirts of the yakuza territory we should be able to slip in virtually undetected."

"Fine. Now that we have that settled," Brad began in a slightly irritated voice, "Let's discuss how we are going to take care of Nai. I want to send in three people just to be on the safe side. We can't afford any screw-ups and Nai's office building has enough security that I feel better about sending in three. In fact, I've seen this hit and three is the number. You three to be exact."

Ran looked up from the information and maps he had been studying. "Are you sure sending Toma on a face-to-face hit his first time out is a good idea," he questioned with a frown.

"No, I'm not sure it's a good idea, but I know he is part of the hit team for this particular mission and that you all are successful. I understand your concern, but we are just going to have to let this happen and pick up any pieces later. You and Schu will also be there in case anything goes wrong, and I trust your ability to handle any situations that come up."

"I promise not to freak out," Toma suddenly said sarcastically, slightly annoyed at being talked about as though he wasn't present. Ran started to say something, but Toma cut him off, "Look, if I'm supposed to be there, then I'm not going to leave you two hanging. Also, I can keep it together long enough for us to get back to a safe place if any part of the mission is . . . unsettling."

Ran nodded. His cousin was determined to help which meant there was no stopping him. He was merely going to have to do the best he could to protect Toma and deal with any fall out later.

Schu spoke up. "So we make our hit and then meet at a rendezvous before we go hit the warehouse?"

"Yes."

"No."

Toma looked curiously between Brad and Ran. "So which is it?"

Oracle, not used to having his authority questioned, glared disdainfully at the red head. "What now, Fujimiya?"

Ran matched Crawford's glare. "I think it would be better if we hit Kobayashi the day before giving time for word to circulate around to Niku about his partner's execution. It may cause him to panic and make a mistake. If Niku and his thugs are in a state of panic when we strike, we will have an advantage decreasing the possibility that any of our people will be hurt. It will also make the hit easier in general."

"Or," Crawford countered, "them being in a state of panic could work against us. We could possibly find them in a state of disarray, and then all the adrenaline that is pent up is released when we attack causing them to react more fiercely and violently than they normally would causing an increased probability that one of our people will be hurt and injuries will probably be more severe than they would have been otherwise. The other possibility is that they don't panic, but tighten security around the warehouse making it harder to make the hit, and again increasing the probability of injury to one of our own."

"That's true," Toma agreed, "but they're already constantly on their guard and this hit is going to be difficult no matter what. I mean, isn't that why we were called in to begin with? So shouldn't we at least try and give ourselves every possible advantage, even with the possibility that the plan could back fire. It's not like them deciding to increase fortification is really going to make that much of a difference in the long run."

"Unless you've Seen something that would indicate they are planning to increase fortification and haven't told us," Ran challenged.

Brad shook his head. He hadn't Seen anything of the sort.

Schu decided to put in his two cents. "Toma and Ran are making a lot of sense. I mean, shouldn't we take every advantage we can get, even if it is only minimal?"

After a moment, the precog made a decision. "This is what we are going to do, and there will be no arguments." He gave the others a meaningful look before continuing, "You three will make your hit at Kobayashi's office at approximately 5:30 tomorrow afternoon after sneaking into the building from a back or side entrance. He always stays at work an extra hour just to avoid going home to his wife, so we can be sure he'll still be there and the building will be fairly empty at that point. As soon as you've made the hit 'port out of the office to the alley here behind the hotel and then come in through the front lobby so the cameras see you. There won't be any footage of you on the office security cameras, but on the off chance that a civilian spots you this will give you an alibi; you can't be in two places several blocks apart at the same time after all."

"But we'll still be in our mission gear," Schuldig said. "It won't do us any good to walk into the hotel lobby covered in blood."

"We'll have Aya waiting at one of the service doors that opens into the alley for you to take your mission gear and pass you fresh clothes in the event that it is necessary," Crawford explained. "Now," he continued, "the cleaning crew will be in at six and will find his body. The news stations will find out and run the story. This will give Niku a chance to hear of his partner's untimely demise. If everything works out the way we want it too, then this will give us an advantage, just like Ran suggested. However, in case they decide to fortify, we will hit the warehouse later that night. So we are still fitting the mission into a single night, but if the plan to take out Kobayashi backfires, Niku and his men won't have much time to increase security."

"Sounds good to me," Toma said seriously.

Both telepaths nodded their assent.

"Good," Brad said. "I will leave you three to discuss your part of the mission amongst yourselves while I go inform the rest of the team what we have come up with."

As he left, the three remaining men began making plans.

**Hotel, Next day, 5:00 pm**

Ran looked at both Schu and Toma giving them a critical once over. All three assassins were dressed in identical black three piece suits for 'effect' as Brad had said. Ran had his katana, Toma his scythe, and Schu was checking the safety on his Bersa. Ran sighed; he really didn't like this.

"Alright, Ocicat," Ran said using Toma's new codename, "We do this just like we did when we were kids, codenames and all."

"Roger that, Abyssinian," Toma replied with a salute.

Nagi suddenly appeared. "We're ready to do the com check now."

"Lead the way, Prodigy." The blue-haired warrior exclaimed with gusto.

Ran rolled his eyes as they followed Nagi into the other room where all the computers and communications equipment had been set up. "Now you're just showing off," he said giving his cousin a mild look.

Nagi passed ear pieces around to the three assassins. "You will be in direct contact with Sakura with these," he explained, more for Toma than the other two. Nagi had no doubt that Toma could work a simple com, but this was his first time on a mission with them, and it was making everyone a little nervous. Once the three men had their earpieces in place, he finished giving them instructions, "Now go back into the other room so we can make sure everything is working properly."

As soon as they had closed the door, Schu heard Sakura in his ear.

"Mastermind, this is Chantilly. Do you copy?"

"Yeah, but you're a little on the soft side. Where is the volume on this thing?"

There was a moment of silence and then she was back again. "Is this better?"

"Much."

"Good, over and out."

"10-4."

Sakura repeated the same process with other two before proclaiming them mission ready.

At that moment Oracle appeared. "Perfect," he said as he surveyed the trio taking in their appearance. "I'm told you're mission ready." He got three nods in response. "Good, commence phase one." Again he got three nods before the group headed out.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Kobayashi's Office, 5:31 pm**

Ran, Toma and Schu were outside of the office building waiting for Sakura to signal that it was safe for them to enter. For as much as she kept claiming to be nervous, she was doing an excellent job.

"Alright," came Chantilly's voice, "we are go in five, four, three, two, one, now!"

The three assassins strode in with confidence, entering the stairwell silently and beginning their ascent. Fortunately, they only had to climb five flights before they reached the designated floor. They swept down the long corridor towards the office at the end of the hall.

Mastermind was in the lead flanked by Abyssinian and Ocicat. When they reached the office, the German telepath swung the door open without any pretense, and the trio moved in authoritatively.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Kobayashi demanded of the intruders.

Each man fixed him with a deadly gaze in response. He watched as each studied him intently. Each set of eyes seemed to drink in every detail of him. It was very unnerving.

"Can I help you," he inquired much more politely.

At this, each of the well dressed men broke into a wicked smile.

'Wait,' Kobayashi thought frantically, 'they're in suits, they all have ear pieces.' His eyes went wide. 'The upper ranks must have sent them! They must know about my illegal dealings!.' He paled and his hands began to tremble. "Look, you don't have to take me in," he began in a shaky voice as he stood up behind his desk and headed for one of the filing cabinets, "I'll give you as much money as you want. I even have some right here." After opening a drawer, he pulled out a large wad of cash.

As his soon-to-be killers laughed coldly, he finally notice that the two flanking men each held a weapon. These men had not been sent by his superiors.

Smirking, the one in the middle slowly pulled a firearm from inside his jacket while simultaneously retrieving a silencer from another pocket. As he assembled the weapon, he spoke. "We do not want your money," Mastermind sneered. "The only way to pay the devil is with your soul, and we've come to collect."

Kobayashi watched in stunned horror as the orange-haired demon raised the gun swiftly and put three bullets in his chest. He looked down bringing a hand up to touch the warm crimson that was quickly staining his shirt before collapsing.

"Phase one complete," Abyssinian said coldly into his com while grabbing his teammates, so they could make their escape.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Niku's Headquarters, 2:14 am**

Toma looked over at Shay, who was on the rooftop adjacent to him. "Are you ready, Nebelung?"

"Affirmative," she replied, "and you?"

"Are you kidding? I was born ready."

Shay couldn't help but smile at the response. It reminded her so much of when they had first met. She knew the others probably thought Toma wasn't taking this seriously, but she knew just the opposite was true. If he was joking that meant he was ready, it meant he was at his most focused, and that made her feel good, safe, confident.

Prodigy's voice suddenly came over their coms. "It looks like they tightened things up instead of panicking like we wanted."

"Is everyone in position?" Chantilly inquired. After receiving a round of affirmative responses, Sakura checked to see that everything else was in order. "It looks like they've had enough time to increase their numbers by fifty percent, so watch yourselves." She took a deep breath before giving the final order, "Execute phase two."

On her command, Schatten emerged from the shadows in a whirlwind of terror striking from every direction. Niku's henchmen fought back fiercely. Bullets whizzed by continuously as the group of assassins penetrated to the inner sanctum of the warehouse.

Brad and Ran infiltrated the converted fortress from the north and east entrances respectively, while Far and Ken had converged on a large group of guards gathered in the loading bay on the south side of the building. Schu entered above Brad from an adjacent roof top through the large windows that lined the top of the building and landed neatly on one of the catwalks. Omi did the same on the east side to give Ran any cover he might need. Yohji used his wire to swing into the building, but instead of landing on a catwalk, he allowed himself to drop to the ground, taking the guards inside the loading bay waiting to ambush Ken and Far by surprise.

The warehouse had once been a factory, but all the heavy machinery had been removed leaving a large space which had been filled with crates of all shapes and sizes. They were piled high with mazelike paths running between the mountains of boxes. About two thirds of the way up was a series of catwalks which were accessible via a metal staircase tucked in the southwest corner. Along the catwalk on the west wall were a series of small offices, and one large office with a large paned window which had formerly belonged to the foreman of the establishment.

"Do we have a visual on the target?" Oracle demanded in a loud voice. He was currently in a fire fight with two of Niku's thugs and was pinned down behind several large crates severely limiting his visibility. "Mastermind, what the hell are you doing up there?"

"You're not the only one getting shot at," was the telepath's hasty reply. "And, yes, I do have a visual. He's on the floor with two body guards – shit!" Mastermind ducked and rolled as a steady stream of fire pushed him back.

"Mastermind, how do I get to the target," came Abyssinian's voice.

"I can't tell from here, it's all a bunch of mazes, but he's headed for the stairs."

"Copy that. I'm headed that way." he paused and looked up at the catwalk above him, "Bombay, you with me. I'm going to need you to help me intercept him."

"Roger that. Just start moving and I'll lead the way."

"Alright, let's move."

As the fight continued, more and more of Niku's thugs were running out of ammo turning what had started out as a fire fight into an all out brawl. As each of the enemy threw down their guns they quickly armed themselves with clubs, pipes and chains. The problem was, they didn't seem to be thinning out any. If nothing else, they seemed to be getting more numerous.

"Sweet Mary mother of Jesus," Ken exclaimed through gasps of air. "Chantilly, where the hell are all these guys coming from?"

"They're filtering in from the outer parts of the territory," Sakura replied. "It appears the initial fire fight drew the attention of surrounding yakuza members, and the ones that showed up after the fact must have called for reinforcements."

"That doesn't explain why the hell it isn't getting any better in here," Balinese growled.

"Ditto," Schu replied.

Suddenly Prodigy's voice came in over the com link. "I just finished a thermal scan of the building and from what I can tell they reopened that basement that was supposed to be closed off, so you have guys coming up from beneath you."

"Shit," Oracle hissed. "How the hell did we miss that?"

Omi spoke up, "There's no way anyone could have known –"

"Siberian, Berserker, you have incoming at ten o'clock," Chantilly broke in. Even as she gave the warning, she saw Yohji take a blow that sent him sprawling off balance. "Balinese is in trouble," she said desperately.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ran cursed as pandemonium broke out all around the warehouse. He was currently isolated deep within the maze of crates rendering him completely unable to assist his teammates, and he couldn't afford to turn back. They had to take out the target; they had to complete this mission. Finally, the red-head made a quick decision.

"Bombay, go cover Balinese."

"But –"

"I'll be fine! Go, now! That's an order!"

Omi dashed off to aid the older blonde leaving Abyssinian to his own devices.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Yohji felt the chain hit his knee as an immediate, sharp pain spiked up his leg. Instantly, he knew that this was the end. He was going down and there was no one there to save him. He deserved to die alone though; that's how Asuka had died after all. He certainly didn't deserve anything better. But honestly, he hadn't expected it to be so soon. They weren't even fighting Esset for crying out loud, just a bunch of Yakuza scum. Oh well, the team would probably be better off without him, and he would finally be able to rest, to see her again. As Balinese resigned himself to his fate, a crazy battle cry filled the warehouse echoing bizarrely inside the closed space. He looked up sharply to see a blue-haired warrior falling from the sky scythe in hand.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Toma had been waiting in the smaller of the two offices on the west side of the building while Shay was next door in the main office. He and Shay had been assigned these spaces in the event that the target was there, and if not they were to remain there in the event that Niku attempted to escape via either avenue. However, when Ocicat had heard that Balinese was in trouble, he had gone flying out the door and over the railing without a second thought. He was not going to just standby while one of his teammates died! Screw the target!

Ocicat landed just above his fellow assassin and began a vicious attack. He sliced through everyone that tried to come near them twirling the scythe with astounding skill and grace.

As blood spilled all around them, arrows and darts began raining down. Balinese staggered back to his feet regaining his wits as the realization that he was not going to die tonight sank in fully. The lanky assassin rejoined the battle full force smiling as he finally witnessed fear in the eyes of his opponents.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Abyssinian had begun moving swiftly through the maze after Bombay had left him, but with every attempt he made to reach the staircase in the far corner of the building, he only seemed to get further away.

'Screw this' he thought hastily.

He ported himself to the catwalk directly above him. He quickly spotted the target and his body guards. They were just reaching the stairs. In the next second, he stood in front of them katana drawn. He wasted no time going in for the strike, but one of the guards interfered. Metal hit metal in a sharp clang as the red-haired telepath's blade came into contact with the gun barrel.

_'Maelstrom, move NOW!'_

The swordsman obeyed immediately, but it wasn't enough to keep the bullet the other guard had fired from grazing just across the top of his hip and taking a fair amount of flesh with it. Ran grunted in pain as he staggered back slightly looking up just in time to notice that Niku himself had a gun pointed at him. He turned quickly in an attempt to dodge the second bullet only to have it graze the back of his shoulders. Pain seared through his back as he hit the ground with a solid thud. As his self-preservation instincts kicked in, he ported back up to the walk where he knew Schu was waiting.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

When the assassin had disappeared into thin air, Niku had taken the opportunity to continue with his escape.

"Nebelung, the target is headed straight for you," Mastermind warned his sister quickly. "Maelstrom is down;" he continued, "his injuries aren't fatal, but he's going to need some TLC when we get back to base though."

"Copy that," Prodigy answered quickly, "we'll pass the information along to Korat. She'll be ready and waiting."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Shay drew the sword he had borrowed from Ran for this mission, and tensed with anticipation. She knew she had to be ready to strike as soon as the target came through the door.

When the door finally swung open, the drug lord barely had a chance to register that someone else was in the room before his head was separated from the rest of his body. Shayna had taken the quickest, cleanest kill shot she knew, and as she watched the target's head roll away from her, she regretted it. There was nothing honorable about killing this way, and she didn't like it. The deed was already done, however, and now they needed to get out of here while they still could.

"Mission complete," Nebelung stated quickly.

"Everybody pull out now," Chantilly commanded.

All the assassins obeyed.

**2:29 am**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Koneko, Brad's Office, 11:07 am**

Brad looked up as his wife entered his office. He quickly noted her disheveled appearance and the dark circles under her eyes, and running a hand through his unruly hair realized he probably didn't look much better.

They had returned to the hotel by three a.m. and had quickly packed up and moved out within two hours. In those two hours, Aya had managed to make sure their injured were stable enough for the long trip home.

"How are they?" Crawford finally asked.

Aya walked around and leaned against his desk looking at him. "Yohji and Far are both pretty banged up. Yohji took a pretty bad blow to his knee. He needs to stay off of it for the rest of the day, but then he needs to start getting around as much as he can. He'll have a bit of a limp for the next couple of days, but over time it should heal completely. He actually got lucky. It must have been a glancing blow because if it had been a head on hit I'm fairly certain it would have shattered his kneecap." She yawned briefly before continuing, "He also sustained some pretty deep knife wounds, and he's got a black eye, split lip, and a badly bruised jaw as well as other minor cuts and bruises."

Crawford sighed. "Sounds like he got the worst of it."

"Yeah, seems like it," the empath concurred.

"What about your brother and Far?"

"Ran caught two bullets, but both grazed him, though the one near his hip was pretty deep. He lost a good amount of blood, but with some rest he should be fine. Far just got beat up real bad. He incurred several cuts and he's covered in bruises, not to mention several cracked ribs to go with a nasty bump on the head. Nothing really new for him, but it's worse than usual. Everyone else either had very minor cuts and bruises or came away clean."

"That's everything?" the precog questioned.

"All the physical damage . . . I don't think you have time for my assessment of the emotional and mental status of the team."

The American closed his eyes and sighed. "How bad is it?"

"Shay's the worst after having to make the kill. She really wasn't ready for that yet. I think maybe you should talk with her. I mean Toma and Schu will take care of her, but I think something coming from you would really go a long way," Aya finished.

Brad nodded, "If you'll send her my way, I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you sweetheart," she said as she leaned in and gave him a kiss.

"You're welcome," he replied, "and after you talk to Shay you should go rest, I'll be upstairs in a bit."

Aya had only been gone a few moments before Nagi and Sakura appeared in his office. Brad suppressed a sigh before asking curtly, "What?"

Sakura was a little shocked at his tone and quickly began back tracking, "We can come back later if this is a bad time."

When the precog saw the perplexed looks both teenagers were giving him, he realized his tone had been overly harsh and amended his previous statement, "No, I'm sorry for snapping, what was it you came to tell me?"

"Um . . ." Nagi began since Sakura looked very uncomfortable, "Sakura and I have been going over all the information that Shay hacked for us and –"

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, yes, I figured since Shay was in the main office there might be a computer there with some valuable information that Kritiker could use in the future, so while she was waiting at her post I isolated her com feed to a private frequency between the two of us and walked her through how to take down computers security systems. It gave me quick and easy remote access which allowed us to pretty much copy everything off their system."

Sakura jumped in finally. "We've been going over all the information since we started back from Kyoto and we sort of found something."

This was bad, Brad was sure of it. He had noticed that 'sort of' seemed to be Sakura's qualifier for any sort of overly negative instance like when she told him how Birman had 'sort of' threatened the three youngest members of his team. In fact, Sakura's 'sort ofs' acted much like one of Aya's 'oh dears.' "What did you find?" he asked reluctantly.

Nagi took it upon himself to break the news. "Niku and his men weren't Yakuza," he hesitated for a moment, "they were Esset."

When their leader broke into a string of expletives, both teens were shocked. After a few moments though, the American recomposed himself and then spoke. "Alright," he said slowly, "this is actually the best news I've heard all morning. It explains a lot of what happened during the hit, both that which we expected and that which we didn't."

Brad shook his head. "Honestly, I was rather concerned about our performance tonight, but the fact that we were fighting Esset and not Yakuza changes everything." He gave the pair an approving look. "Excellent work, both of you. I'll need both of you, as well as Omi, to start trying to track down where they were getting their orders from immediately. Hopefully we can find the base and hit it before they relocate; it would be a great victory for us. But first, I want you both to get some sleep. You've been working non-stop, and the team can't afford to lose either of you to illness or a burn out, so sleep, now."

Nagi and Sakura both nodded and headed out of the office. Almost immediately, Shay poked her head in.

"Aya said you wanted to speak with me?" she asked.

"Yes, please come in and have a seat," Crawford answered. As she moved into the office, he continued. "I wanted to start by saying that you were invaluable to this mission, as you showed through your actions, and you did very well on your first time out." At the dark look that crossed the woman's face Brad sighed, "But that's not how you feel about what happened, is it?"

"There was nothing honorable about what I did. I just killed him. He wasn't a threat to me or any of us and he hadn't attacked me, and I just killed him with no pretense except that it was what I was told to do by an aloof organization who decided he deserved to die. What gives them that right, to judge like that, and then for me to mindlessly carry out their orders because that's what is expected of me. That's not who I am, and that's not who I want to be."

"Really, because from what I understand you were very good about following Naga Shado's orders when you were helping him take over other realms and casting them into eternal darkness."

Shay paled. "That's not fair," she said through gritted teeth as tears gathered in her eyes, "I didn't have a choice. If this is what you asked me to come talk about then I'm leaving. In fact, I'll pack my things and be gone by nightfall. That will fix all our problems." She stood abruptly and headed for the door.

'Shit.' Realizing he had to fix this before it caused an uproar, Brad set himself to a hasty apology. "Wait," he said as he rose to follow her.

Schu's twin turned an angry, hurt look on the precog, "What do you want now?" she practically snarled.

"I wasn't trying to insult or upset you just now. I was trying to show you how little of a difference there was between what you did earlier this morning and what you did to survive during your time away from Earth. I'm sorry for hurting you. That was not my intention." Her eyes softened as the tension and anger drained from body leaving behind very discernable guilt and shame. "Look, the first time you do this job it is never easy, and the way you feel right now is completely normal. And you're right, there is nothing honorable about this line of work, but it is necessary. And you are necessary to this team. If it will make you feel better, I can pull you out of the field for a while and give you a chance to work through this and get accustomed to the idea of some of things you are going to have to do, but eventually I will need you to fight, and I will need you to be willing to do whatever is necessary to win this war. The people we are fighting play dirty which means we are going to have to do the same, but always remember that I will never ask you to do anything that I wouldn't do myself."

Shay nodded. "Alright."

The American felt relief sweep through him when he was sure he had averted an impending crisis. Sometimes, he swore that with the way he handled women that it was a miracle Aya ever agreed to marry him. "Very good," he said, "I can replace you with Nagi next mission, and I'll have Omi give you a crash course in computers so you can act as Sakura's back-up. Is that acceptable?"

Shay nodded again. She hated to show any weakness to this man, but she knew that until she was able to work some of these feelings out she would be a danger to the other members of the team. The last thing she wanted to do was endanger her new family even if they were off to somewhat of a rocky start.

"Alright, that settles everything. You should go get some rest; it's been a long day."

"You should too. You look like hell."

Brad grimaced at Shayna's back as she walked out his office. Deciding that she was probably right, he turned out the light and followed her lead.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Secluded building just outside Tokyo, 4 days later, 11:13 pm**

It had taken less than two days for the techie trio (as everyone had taken to calling Omi, Nagi, and Sakura) to track down the Esset base that was giving Niku orders. Brad had met little resistance from Kritiker concerning Schatten's plans to attack the base. In fact, they could have, and would have, made the hit last night, but Aya had thrown a fit, saying her patients needed at least one more days rest before they went on another. In the end, Brad had decided that they would need everyone as close to one hundred percent as possible, so they had waited.

The women of Schatten were at the Koneko running tactical and waiting for any injured while the men silently approached the old run down mansion that served as the enemy base.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Inside the building, a group of over thirty Esset agents waited anxiously for the arrival of Schatten intent on destroying them. Finally, one of the telepaths gave the signal that the enemy group was approaching.

One of the Esset snipers smiled to himself. 'This is too easy," he thought snidely. 'I'm going to enjoy this.'

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Schatten entered into a large, dark space which was mostly empty except for a few dilapidated pieces of furniture and some columns.

'_Place doesn't exactly give you that warm fuzzy feeling of home now does it,'_ Schuldig sent in an attempt to release some nervous tension.

'_Focus,'_ Brad commanded sharply silencing the German.

As the rest of the team entered the building Ran noted how unique the interior design was. Sure, he had seen the floor plans when they were planning the hit, but seeing the place in person was quite different. They had entered into a foyer which basically had a very large square hole cut in the ceiling above it that was lined with railing because there were hallways on each side on the upper floor and then there was another floor above that. The building was huge and the enemy could be anywhere, and that definitely didn't work in their favor. Ran sighed. He didn't have a good feeling about this.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Omi clambered up to the second floor balcony soundlessly to take his position. He was there only long range assassin tonight, so he had been positioned up high. Not that he minded, it was where he preferred to be really.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The Esset sniper smiled viciously when his target came into view. 'Like shooting fish in a barrel.'

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Just as Schatten was getting ready to split up, everyone blinked in shock as they were blinded by a sudden light. Gun fire suddenly ripped through the air and Schatten scattered as everyone dove for whatever cover they could find.

Ran looked up in an attempt to spot some of their assailants. Suddenly he froze, his complexion paling noticeably.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Schu looked in Ran's directions when he picked up alarm and panic from the red-head. When he finally spotted him, he followed the other telepath's gaze. A cold chill went down his spine.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The Esset sniper positioned his crosshairs carefully. He didn't intend on missing the young blonde.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The panic surging through both telepaths finally pushed them into action. Ran screamed silently at Omi while Schu yelled at Brad.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

At that very instant, the trigger on the sniper rifle depressed, the shot echoed sickeningly drowning out everything else. The sniper watched as his target slumped to the floor. 'Mission accomplished.'

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Who can say what fate lies ahead for Schatten? And what of Omi? Was he picked because of situational convenience or deliberately targeted? Hardship lies before Schatten now, and before they can continue with their self-declared war, they must first escape the hell zone they have found themselves in. With one team member down, will they succeed? Or will some be captured by Esset, tortured, or perhaps even killed? Schatten dared to throw the gauntlet at Esset. This massive organization has not taken this taunting well and has mobilized to destroy Schatten._

_And much lies ahead, still. What shall Birman do when faced with a choice that can lead to her death? Can Schatten survive the war of wills that will soon arise between Ran and Brad as they battle for leadership? And what of Kritiker? This so-called force for good has shown itself to be as manipulative and vindictive as Esset. What actions shall they take when all is finally revealed? _

_We've explained a number of confusing issues in our latest LiveJournal post. Follow the link below or in our FFN profile to read it. _

_In fact, we post a post-chapter review to every chapter on the Livejournal. If you review, we do respond to your questions and comments. Besides those, other pieces of information will also be revealed. So please, go check it out._

_For author notes and reviewer responses, see our livejournal at http:// silvenstarlight . livejournal . com/ . Please visit our website at (note – best viewed with Internet Explorer)._


	6. Et tu, Kritiker

_**MEGA IMPORTANT STUFF!! MUST READ!!**_

_**Yes, new chapter. Finally! Without going into too much detail here…we got burned out on the last chapter. We are really sorry that it took us so long to finish this chapter. Between the stress of the previous chapter and our hectic, busy lives, all inspiration for writing was destroyed. It was bad.**_

_**BUT! It is VERY, VERY, VERY important that you go to the livejournal after reading this chapter. You REALLY, REALLY need to go and read. You HAVE TO. The address is at the end of the chapter AND linked on our FFN homepage. GO READ!  
**_

**Improbability Factor: Chapter Six – Et tu, Kritiker?**

_By Ptath and Thalia _

_Beta-ed by Leonarbo_

_Inspired and assisted by Lady Raina_

_**Disclaimer**__: We do not own Weiss. Even if we could, simple self-preservation would dictate we stay far, far away. _

_**Email updates available**__. If you wish to receive email notification when we post an update to this, or any other, story, please leave us a review or send us an email containing an email address and a screen name._

_**Rating alert:**__ This story is rated 'M' because of language, graphic violence and mature themes. Very mature themes. And very graphic violence. _

'This' means thinking to one's self ('Time to introduce myself')

'_This' means talking telepathically ('hello, my name is George,')_

"This" _means talking out loud_("I like cats.")

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**FARFARELLO SAY:** Do not fear your enemies. The worst they can do is kill you. Do not fear friends. At worst, they may betray you. Fear those who do not care; they neither kill nor betray, but betrayal and murder exists because of their silent consent.

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_**Esset trap, mansion just outside Tokyo, January 20, 11:37 pm**_

_The panic surging through both telepaths finally pushed them into action. Ran screamed silently at Omi while Schu yelled at Brad._

_At that very instant, the trigger on the sniper rifle depressed, the shot echoed sickeningly, drowning out everything else. The sniper watched as his target slumped to the floor. 'Mission accomplished.'_

Less than a millisecond later, a .32 caliber bullet tore through the sniper's eye and began to ricochet off the walls of the skull, ripping and tearing the grey matter in its path. Blood, brain fluid and small pieces of flesh spilled out of the ears and nose, splattering on the floor and railing.

Ran appeared at Omi's side, hastily gathering the downed assassin to him while pain-filled blue eyes stared sluggishly back at him. Even as hell broke loose on the mansion floor, Ran disappeared.

-----------------------------------------

Aya jumped when her brother materialized in the infirmary, her eyes going wide when she saw Omi's bloody form held tight in Ran's arms.

"Put him on the table, quick," she said, moving to gather supplies. Ran took two long steps and set the blonde assassin down. Omi's eyes stared blearily for a moment before fluttering closed. "I'll need Shay and Sakura," Aya stated urgently.

With a quick nod, Ran ported to the computer room where Shay and Sakura were running tactical. "Aya needs you downstairs, Omi was shot," he said, causing both the women to jerk in surprise.

"What?" Shay asked, blue eyes going wide. Without another word, she sprang to her feet and disappeared out the door.

"Do you need me to stay on tactical?" asked Sakura, her face pale.

"No, Omi needs you more," Ran replied in a grim voice. Sakura obeyed quickly, ripping off the earpiece she'd been wearing, the sounds of a massive gunfight still thundering out of it.

Reaching into his rapidly dwindling energy reserves, Ran disappeared once more.

-----------------------------------------

"The girls are taking care of Omi," Ran reported as he appeared behind Brad and Schu. The former Schwarz were pinned down behind a large, ornate pillar, one of many in the eccentrically decorated mansion. "We need to end this now," he added, voice getting noticeably harsher.

"I'm open to suggestions," replied Brad through gritted teeth.

_'Everyone regroup at the pillar, now!'_ Ran immediately sent out.

Brad and Schu were quick to lay down cover fire on their left so that Toma, Ken, and Far could pull back while Nagi put up an energy shield, picking up Yohji on his way over. As soon as everyone was present Ran looked over at Nagi.

"Prodigy, have you seen 'The Matrix'?" Abyssinian asked sharply.

"Which one?" The young kinetic replied.

"The first." When he nodded that he had, the swordsman continued, "Good. Now, at the end of the movie when Neo stops all the bullets, can you do that, but multiply the bullet count by thirty-five or forty?"

Nagi's eyes went wide before he paused to give it some serious thought. The rest of the group looked on in tense confusion at the strange query the red-haired telepath had put forward. After a few seconds, Prodigy spoke, "I've only ever put up energy shields when it came to bullets because it required a lot less concentration and was just as effective as trying to flat out stop the bullets but I think I could do it."

"You're sure?" Ran asked. When he received yet another nod of affirmation, he turned to the rest of the group, sweeping them with a look that would have made Death himself cower. "We end the games tonight. We are going to make a statement, and we are going to make sure it is one Esset will not soon forget. None of their people are to leave here alive and no more of our people are to fall. Period. Now . . ." Abyssinian outlined the plan quickly and then asked for questions.

Yohji spoke up, "What about me and Oracle?"

"Feel free to join in the melee that will ensue at the end. That goes for you too, Mastermind, and it goes double if you notice that any of us are in trouble. Outside of that just sit back and enjoy the show. Prodigy, if you need more power let me know. Anything else?" The swordsman received negative responses all around. "Alright," he shot a brief glance over to Schu before he gave the final command, "execute..."

As he said the word, the two telepaths merged and reached out as Mayhem, grabbing the thirty-plus enemy minds and holding them, freezing them, and forcing them to stare at a truly terrifying sight. As one, all the blade wielding assassins of Schatten emerged from their hiding spot, with one glowing Prodigy casting a foreboding light about them. Prodigy and Siberian were side-by-side on point, walking in lock step. Even now, so early in the game, they loomed in the forefront as one, each eerily indistinguishable from the other, and so they emerged, twin demons, their eyes glowing with rage. Behind them followed yet another piece of Hell which was fixing to rain itself down on Esset. Maelstrom, Berserker, and Ocicat formed a wall of sleek power fueled by cold dark rage. And so it was that the flames of Hell marched before its cold hard darkness until they stood in the center of the large main room facing an enemy that was much greater in numbers than they. In unison, they produced their blades and as planned, Mayhem released its mental hold. Almost instantly, gun fire fell down on the seemingly unguarded assassins. But much to the dismay of the enemy forces, their bullets stopped short, suspended in thin air.

_'Abyssinian,'_ Prodigy struggled out as sweat began to run down the sides of his face, _'I can't keep this up much longer.'_ And instantly the lights flickered and the teen felt power surging through him.

When the gun fire ceased, Prodigy let the bullets drop unceremoniously to the ground in a soft clatter, the quintet circled up back-to-back and prepared to win a fight that most normal people couldn't have even hoped to come out of alive. The Esset agents converged on them from all sides, leaving about a foot of space between the two groups, sporting weapons of various kinds. And then there was a pause, brief and yet eternities long, in which the heaviness of Death settled around them. And instantaneously the spell was broken as an enemy combatant launched across that foot of space at Siberian, only to have bugnuks buried deep into his chest, ripping up and out, the sound of tearing flesh accompanied by that of breaking bones. And so it was that their attackers showed no mercy and that their blades sliced and ripped and shredded, until they were surrounded by tattered pieces of flesh and the bodies they belonged to. The fight had been a long and hard one, and as they crossed the room to the others, the blood soaked carpet squished beneath five sets of heavy boots.

As the eight weary combatants exited the building, Ran reached out with his powers and blew all the light fixtures, drawing the last dredges of power from them and showering sparks down on the corpses they had left behind before plunging them into eternal darkness.

**12:01 AM**

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 21, 12:43 AM**

'He's grown up so much,' Yohji thought to himself while steady hands used the burned remains of one cigarette to light another. 'Omi's grown up from that sixteen year old I met when I joined Weiss. He's grown. He's even stronger than before. He's our hope. He's my hope. He can't die.'

Green eyes flicked about the cramped stairwell and hallway, taking in the dark figures of his teammates before settling on Ken's bowed head. 'Omi won't throw away three years of his life. He wouldn't do that to Ken. They've been friends for too long.'

Yohji let his eyes wander once more, now taking in Ran's incessant pacing. Unlike most of the other men gathered in the hallway, Ran still wore his mission gear, although he had discarded his heavy, blood-soaked coat. Yohji pushed his own fear down when it began to whisper in the back of his mind, shoving it as deep within himself as he could. Ran and Ken needed him to be strong. And he would be. He could do that…couldn't he?

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 21, 1:58 AM**

Ran was a problem, Brad concluded. He was a threat, the chaos theory to the game theory whose rules Brad lived his life by. He was strong, loyal, all the things you wanted in a teammate and friend. But he was also impulsive, emotional and quite prone to acting on those emotions. And every time Ran acted on those impulses, those emotions, he was the metaphorical butterfly causing hurricanes in the Atlantic by beating his wings off the coast of China. The visions his precognition granted him couldn't always predict those hurricanes. And one flap of those delicate wings could destroy the path Brad had forged with his visions, undoing the delicate and precise work.

Ran was still pacing. If it had been Nagi who had been shot instead of Omi, then it probably would have been Brad wearing a groove in the floor. But it wasn't. Omi was in the infirmary. And those who weren't fighting to save his life were forced to wait. The deep seething rage that had crossed the threshold of their home had receded as most of the team had settled down anticipating a long wait before they had news of Omi's condition. With the exception of Ran, the rest of Schatten was reachable. Brad didn't want Omi to die. He was family. But if the unthinkable happened, despite all their efforts, Schatten would heal. And they would finish what they had started.

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 21, 2:27 AM**

_No leaking, Ran __**don't**__, I won't let you_ Schu clenched his teeth and pulled his green coat tighter around him, ignoring the now-dried blood splattered here and there. _Have to block it, can't let it reach the others, too much tension already… can't add Ran's temper into the mix_

Omi was dying. He could feel it. There were no thoughts, no whispers of consciousness, but still, part of him fought to survive. Fought despite the undercurrent of darkness running deep in his mind…_Shay, beloved, hold it in, focus…can't do more than hold a lid on Ran, our brother, hurt, angry, scared…gotta focus on Ran…just a little longer, hold it together_…a darkness that bore the distinctive stench of Taketori. He didn't know, Schu realized while simultaneously pushing Ran's worry back, away from the others. 'I need to tell him…_there was nothing there, just primal instinct, a will to survive despite the mind's absence. A blankness where there should be light, instinct pushing him one way and the stench of Taketori pulling him another way…_He had to live. Omi had to live. Schu was the only one who knew, the only one who could tell him.

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 21, 3:15 AM**

Far watched Schatten, his mind racing; the voice in his head soft and persistent. 'It falls apart, we fall apart, without one of us things fall apart. Omi, my friend, you need to live. I am watching as the team crumbles, as Ran moves closer to my side of the line, to the edge of sanity, and I watch as Schu pulls him back. But Schu can't do it forever or it will destroy him too. And then what of Shay? If we lose Shay, won't we also lose Toma? If we lose Ran and Toma, will we not also lose Aya? I can't lose Aya. Brad can't lose Aya. And then the others will drift away as well, lost without the rest of us. So, you see, you simply can't die, or we, your family, we **will **fall apart. And all the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put humpty together again. You can't die, you can't. Omi, my friend, you must fight…I need you.'

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 21, 4:07 AM**

Sunrise was two hours away and the tension in the air had drenched them like a cold rain. They were drowning in it, and all hope of rescue was quickly being stripped away. They had entered the dark before dawn.

Aya finally appeared, closing the door to the infirmary softly behind her. The men looked at her intently, hope and fear warring within them as they awaited whatever news she brought them.

"He's stable, but he lost a lot of blood and honestly, I'm not sure he'll survive. The bullet just barely missed his heart; otherwise, I'm fairly certain he would be dead. It punctured his left lung and left a pretty nasty exit wound, but it was a clean through and through, which made the patchwork easier. He was really quite lucky."

Ran snarled, his pale face tired and worn, "Omi is in there fighting for his life, and you have the audacity to say he got lucky?"

Aya gave him a stern look. She knew Omi was like a younger brother to Ran. As such, he got all the same consideration she would have. The knowledge of this allowed her to hang onto her calm demeanor. "Had that bullet nicked an artery or hit a rib and shattered, he would be dead. There would be nothing for him to fight for because even you couldn't have gotten him treatment fast enough. The very fact that he is still breathing is nothing short of a miracle. So yes, I have the audacity to say he got lucky." By the end of her explanation, their eyes had locked and the air chilled noticeably.

Nagi stepped forward hesitantly, his voice soft but determined. "Maybe I can help."

"What do you mean?" Aya asked

"Before the Fall of the Elders, back when Far killed Tot, I brought her back to life with my powers. If I was able to do that then, shouldn't I be able to simply heal Omi? I know it wouldn't be simple or easy but if there's the slightest chance, shouldn't I try?"

"No," Oracle declared before anyone else could speak.

"What do you mean 'No'?" Ken demanded incredulously.

"Exactly what I said, No."

"But I can do it," Nagi insisted.

"Prodigy, you are not to assist Korat in anyway and that's an order. Are we clear?" Crawford's eyes glinted, reflecting his determination.

"Hold it," Yohji interrupted, "Nagi is quite possibly Omi's only hope of living and you are going to take that away with a simple order? You may be acting leader, but I will not sit here and watch as you let him die."

"Me either," came Ken's sure voice.

Ran simply loomed in the background looking exactly the way Brad imagined the Angel of Death would.

Aya eyed Brad carefully, not wanting to take sides if she didn't have to. "Why won't you let him help?"

Crawford sighed inwardly and looked at Nagi. "I know you have good intentions, but it's too dangerous. Yes, you did bring Tot back to life but you also brought down an entire building at the same time. You don't have training in this and we have no idea how you will react." He paused for a moment, his gaze sharpening. "I think you will also recall that you were knocked cold after your last **healing** session. It's not that I'm not concerned for Omi, but I can't let you do this. There are too many uncertainties. It's just too dangerous."

Nagi huffed in exasperation and glared up at his adopted father. "I am the strongest telekinetic to come out of Rosenkreuz to date, and I have more control than most kinetics twice my age. I understand that you are worried about the repercussions this could have on me, but eventually you are going to have to trust me. Right now . . ." Nagi stopped to rein in his emotions that were suddenly threatening to take over. He started again. "Right now my best friend, my first real friend, is dying and I can save him. I know I can save him. So, I need to you to let me do this. I need you trust me. Brad, please, let me do this."

The look of pure determination in those midnight blue eyes told Brad everything he needed to know. Nagi was going to do this whether he liked it or not. And he seemed to have an army of infuriated assassins backing him. Reluctantly, he bowed his head. "Very well. If you're certain."

-----------------------------------------

**January 21, 4:44 AM**

Brad bent down to pick up Nagi's unconscious form, cradling his slight body to his chest. Nagi had indeed been successful, but it had wiped him out.

Omi now lay sleeping peacefully in the infirmary, his body whole and mind at ease. Ran gently lifted him to take him up to his room where he would no doubt rest more comfortably. Schu grasped Ran and Brad's arms and Ran ported them upstairs.

Brad silently walked out of Omi's room to tend to Nagi while the telepaths saw to Omi.

Schu eyed Ran as he straightened up from the bed. "You need to go shower and get some rest," he said with a slight frown.

Ran shook his head. "I can't leave him alone."

With a roll of his eyes, Schu grabbed Ran by the shoulders and began to propel him towards the door. "Don't worry. I'll sit with him till you come back. Your hair is encrusted with dried blood and you're still wearing mission gear. Go take care of yourself while I stay here with him. Aya said he won't be awake for a while yet anyway."

-----------------------------------------

Pleased he'd finally gotten Ran in and out of the shower, Schuldig was quick to scrub himself clean and dress in fresh clothes. Hurrying back to Omi's room, he found the other telepath sitting in a chair, crashing fast and desperately fighting to stay awake.

A quick trip back to their room secured several blankets and pillows.

"Here," he said as he offered the retrieved items to Ran. "Get some sleep. I'll stay awake and watch him."

"I'm fine," Ran insisted.

"I really don't have the patience right now for you to be stubborn," Schu replied in a sharp voice. "Your shields are about to collapse from all the emotional stress and exhaustion. Your mind and your body have both made it way past their viable limit for this particular crisis. Omi's going to be fine. And you need to take care of yourself. I'm here and as soon as he wakes up, I'll let you know. I promise. Now get some sleep!"

After a moment of internal debate, the swordsman silently took a blanket and pillow and was soon fast asleep.

-----------------------------------------

**January 21, 7:19 AM**

Omi blinked a few times before sitting up carefully. The room spun for a moment, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut in an effort to make it stop. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Ran asleep in a chair and Schu sitting next to him in another chair.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," the telepath said quietly.

"I was shot," Omi murmured, his voice confused as his hand carefully probed his side for injuries.

"Yes, you were shot. You scared the crap out of us. Ran got you to Aya in time for her to patch you up and then Nagi did the rest."

"What do you mean?" Omi asked, his hand stilling.

"You were in bad shape and Aya wasn't sure you were going to make it. Nagi decided that if he could bring Tot back to life he ought to be able to heal you. We had to convince Crawford to let him try. It's not that Crawford didn't want to help you or anything, but he was worried about the effects it could have on Nagi. In fact, I'm pretty sure Nagi would be here right now if fixing you up hadn't drained him so much."

"He'll be alright, won't he?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine. Just needs to rest, same as you" was Schuldig's relaxed response.

"Now, I promised Ran I'd wake him as soon as you were even semi-conscious, but I need to talk with you first." The German paused for a moment before continuing. "I realized last night that there's something you need to know." Schuldig's blue eyes were steady as he looked at Omi. "Reiji Taketori was not your father. Shuuichi was. He had an affair with your mother, but he didn't find out that you were his child until Reiji shot and killed him."

He waited a moment to give Omi time to absorb this stunning news. When Omi merely stared at him with wide eyes, he began to speak once more. "I know that sometimes you worry about ending up like Hirofumi and Masafumi, but now you don't have to. They weren't really your brothers after all.

"What's more, you have a family that will truly love you and take care of you. Aya, Sakura and Shay worked for four and a half hours straight to get you stable. Ran literally wore a ditch in the carpet from all the pacing he was so frantic. You're Nagi's best friend. Yohji and Ken were both ready to take Brad on to give Nagi a chance to try and save you. It would have hurt a lot of people if you had died last night, including me. Schatten is the only family I've ever really had, and last night Esset tried to hurt this family, _my family_, by hurting you." The intensity of the German's gaze increased tenfold. "I'm sorry I didn't do a better job of protecting you, Omi," he whispered. "I'm sorry I almost let them take you like I've let them take so many other things in my life."

"You don't need to apologize. It wasn't your fault." The young blonde's reply was soft and sincere. "And Schu, thank you for telling me the truth." A slight smile crossed Omi's face. "Knowing that my father was an honorable man, that I didn't commit fratricide…" His head tilted to one side. "And Ouka wasn't my sister," he murmured in sudden realization. He reflected on this for a moment before speaking up once more. "Don't you think it's about time you woke up Ran like you promised?" he asked in a slightly teasing voice.

"Yeah, I guess so." He looked over at the red-haired swordsman. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty," the telepath called as he nudged Ran while simultaneously eliciting a smile from Omi, "rise and shine."

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**January 21, 8:00 AM**

Ran stepped out onto the second floor where the rest of the team had settled. Aya could be heard puttering around the kitchen and the others were spread out through the dining and sitting room in small groups.

"How's he doing?" Yohji asked when Ran's eyes fell on him.

"He's going to be fine."

A collective sigh fell over the team, and the long-settled tension suddenly found itself being pushed away by a universal feeling of relief. Just as everyone was getting ready to disperse after a long and trying night, Birman suddenly appeared on the stairwell. Before she could get a word out, Abyssinian seized the front of her shirt.

"Did you know it was a trap?" he growled, slamming her into the wall.

"What if I did?" she gasped as the air was forced from her lungs.

The telepath brought his hand to her throat and squeezed. "I'll ask again, did you know it was a trap? And I suggest you not try lying," he added with a piercing glare.

"Yes."

"Well then," Ran continued in a cold voice. "Since you seem to be good at delivering messages, deliver this one: if Kritiker chooses to make a repeat performance of tonight's events, they will very quickly find themselves to be the sole recipient of our focus." His piece said, he released her and began to stalk away.

As his foot came to rest on the first step, Birman spoke. "Abyssinian." He stopped but didn't turn, "Was that a threat against Kritiker?"

"What if it was?" He asked over his shoulder.

"Then that would be considered grounds for termination."

"Try it and see what happens."

Birman pulled her revolver, cocked the hammer, and aimed it at his back. Nobody moved. Then suddenly, the assassin was behind her and had a knife to her throat. Her body went stiff as the finely-sharpened cold steel came to rest against her soft, pink flesh. She slowly lowered her weapon so as not to provoke Abyssinian. He leaned in close to her so that his lips were next to her ear as he whispered in an ominous tone, "Remember this."

After he had released her for the second time, she turned to look at him. Her eyes met his even, steady gaze and when she saw the rest of Schatten standing resolutely behind him, she realized the truth: 'They're powerful, too powerful, far more than I thought.'

"You're right," Schu said as he leaned against the stairwell he had been quietly descending. "We are too powerful. Too powerful to be controlled, that is."

"But as long as Kritiker isn't a threat to us, we aren't a threat to Kritiker," Brad added.

Yohji spoke, his voice clear and even as he looked her in the eye. "Eventually, Kritiker is going to try to push the issue and you'll have to make a choice between us and them. And rest assured they need us more than we need them."

"I think you'll make the right choice, though," came Sakura's reassuring voice from over his shoulder.

Birman nodded to this last statement and looked back to Ran. "I'll be sure to deliver your message. I think I might revise it a bit though for the sake of diplomacy."

"That would probably be wise," the swordsman agreed his voice still cool.

As Birman turned to go, Oracle stopped her. "Birman, you have threatened my team twice now. You will not do so a third time without consequence."

She looked into hard, unwavering eyes. "Understood," she said curtly and left.

-----------------------------------------

**January 21, 9:17 AM**

After drawing the curtains closed against the bright sunshine, Aya tiredly made her way to the bathroom where Brad was finally getting ready to rest. She leaned against the doorframe and watched for a moment.

"When Nagi offered to help heal Omi," she began carefully, "there was more than worry there. There were other emotions, all conflicting and fighting each other."

Brad gave her a tightly controlled look. "I believe we covered this already when I explained why I didn't want Nagi to attempt such a dangerous procedure."

"It was more than that, dear," Aya countered.

"Is this going anywhere specific?" Brad asked in a tired voice as he tossed a used washrag onto the counter. "I'm completely exhausted. Could this at least wait until later?"

Aya's eyes flashed dangerously and she stalked forward. "Damn it, Brad," she hissed. "Why won't you talk to me about this? Why are you trying to avoid this? It's quite clear that something was amiss earlier. And if you don't trust me enough to tell me, then this marriage is not going to survive. And if that's the case, then I'm not sure if I'll fight for it." Dark eyes pinned the tall American into place. "Now, talk."

Brad sighed, eyes closing for a moment. "It's Ran," he began. "He throws everything off kilter. He's too unpredictable, too stubborn. And if I can't _see_ what he's going to do then I can't protect this team. And that means someone else will get badly hurt, possibly worse than Omi was last night."

Understanding flowed through Aya. "You can't see everything, Brad," she replied in a calm voice. "And distrusting Ran, or anyone else, is where the true danger to this team lies. If there is a real problem, then you need to work it out. Just letting it sit and fester is the worst thing you could do."

"Hmph."

Aya stepped back to let her husband leave the bathroom. That was really the best she could hope for after such a night.

-----------------------------------------

**Kritiker Headquarters, January 21, 9:42 PM**

Birman trudged to her car, worn out after a long day of bitter arguments and recriminating words. Her news of Schatten's threat had not been taken well and she had ended up staying late to finish her work. It wasn't like she was avoiding going home. Schatten had no reason to search for her small apartment, so there was no reason to think that someone would be there, waiting for her, wanting her to pick a side then and there, or worse.

As the contact agent neared her pink car, a figure came ghosting out of the darkness towards her, and she began to panic. Of course, why would Schatten waste time looking for her apartment when they knew exactly where to find her? Sure Kritiker HQ had security, but they knew all the protocols so what was there to stop them?

"Why?" Ken demanded, pulling Birman from her frantic considerations.

"What?" she replied in confusion.

"Why did you betray us? And don't tell me you didn't have a choice."

The contact agent faltered for a minute before replying reluctantly, "I didn't have a choice."

A seething anger inside Ken sparked and his eyes lit with a menacing glare that pinned Birman in place, sending a chill up her spine. "I told you that wasn't an acceptable answer," the irritated assassin growled. "Now, why?"

The Japanese woman's eyes flashed as she shook off the lingering panic and fear. What right did he have to come here and demand answers from her? He didn't know what it meant to do her job. He had no idea how hard she worked, how much effort she put into keeping them as safe as possible. How dare he . . .

"I was doing my job," she snapped irritably.

"Your job is to bring us the information we need to do our job." Ken retorted sharply. "Preferably without getting killed." He had been moving toward Birman throughout the exchange and was now practically in her face. "I'll ask one more time. Why?"

Birman sighed in defeat. Ken wasn't leaving until he got an answer that he deemed satisfactory, and she knew the only answer that would fit that criterion was the truth. "I have to follow orders too, Siberian."

"Since when do we follow orders?" the ex-jock replied with a slight smirk.

"I'm not as valuable as Schatten," she replied softly, looking away.

Ken grabbed her chin gently and turned her so she was facing him. "Why didn't you tell us Persia threatened you?"

"Why would I?"

"We would have protected you."

"Demons could have protected me from the Devil?" Birman asked disbelievingly.

"No, but I know some dark beast hunters that could have," came Ken's sure response.

"What do you want from me?"

Ken looked her in the eyes. "I want you to trust us. You were right in the middle of things when the Elders fell. You've seen what Schwarz can do, and you know what Weiss was capable of when we were on our own. Now that we're working together, we're stronger than we've ever been."

In that moment she wanted to trust him, she wanted to trust him more than she'd wanted anything else in her life. 'If only you knew how much alike we are. I'm just as much a prisoner to the organization as you are, and I want to be a part of Schatten. But how, how could you all possibly protect me from Kritiker? Is Schatten really that powerful? And even if you are, why would you want to after I nearly caused Omi's death?'

The former goalie could see the doubt, the uncertainty in the other agent's eyes. After everything she had witnessed, she was still unsure of their capabilities. He could feel the anger from earlier boiling back up inside him and gave a low growl.

"You don't seem to get it," Ken said harshly. "We have to trust you and the information you bring us. We're the ones who don't have a choice. We can't afford to doubt what you bring us because if we're busy looking over our shoulder during a mission we're dead. Maybe not the first time out or the second, but eventually that distraction will catch up with us, and it **will** get us killed. We've trusted you; we still do. We have to. Now we need you to trust us." He paused for a minute to allow her to digest everything he'd said before continuing.

"You have a choice to make and not a lot of time to make it. If you work against us, we can't protect you. So, trust us. Trust me, Noriko."

Ken smiled at the shock on Birman's face at the use of her real name.

"Trust me," he said again earnestly.

Just then there was an odd noise behind them in the parking garage and Birman turned to identify the cause. When she couldn't determine the origins of the sound she turned back around to thin air. Ken had taken the opportunity to disappear, but it was just as well. She had a lot to think about.

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 21, 10:07 PM**

Brad was waiting at the top of the stairs for Ken when he returned.

"How did it go?" Oracle inquired casually.

"Well enough," the younger man replied.

"You know that despite everything she may still choose to stay loyal to Kritiker."

"That's her choice to make," Ken said simply.

"If she does choose Kritiker, there may come a time that we have no choice but to kill her."

"Then we will," came the even reply.

Brad looked up slightly, searching Ken's face for some sort of emotion. "Just like that? You seem to care for her."

"I cared about Kase."

And then Crawford saw it. It was just a glimpse and only for a split second, but for that short window the ex-goalie's walls dropped, and everything Ken felt and thought was written in his deep brown eyes. He saw the hurt, and he saw the understanding. Ken understood.

"Very well, I just wanted to be certain that you were aware of all the aspects of the situation."

"I understand." With that, Ken started to move past Brad, but then he stopped and turned back to face him.

"What about your visions?" the younger man questioned. "What have they told you about Birman?"

The barest hint of a smile showed on the Oracle's handsome features. "At this point, it is almost certain that she will join us, although there is still a small possibility otherwise."

"Then why-"

"I just needed to know, to be sure, that you would do whatever is necessary to protect the team."

Ken frowned. "If you didn't know that already then I suggest you start paying more attention to the team . . . the whole team. Not just those you find to be the most useful."

"Oh, I find you very useful Ken-Ken. Why do you think I let you go to her tonight? Very useful indeed."

Ken was a little shocked and then his temper flared.

"Bastard," he growled before turning and leaving.

Brad was still smirking when Far came up the stairs.

"Everything went as it should?"

"Aye," the Irish man replied. "He seems to care for her a great deal."

"I believe he does," Brad said simply.

"Is he going to get hurt?" Far queried.

Brad looked surprised at the question. "I don't think so. Not by her anyway. As far as I can tell things should work out for them."

"Good." Seemingly satisfied, Far walked towards his room, and Brad did the same.

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 22, 5 PM (approx. 36 hours after passing out)**

Nagi regained consciousness slowly. As he opened his eyes a blinding light filled the room, aggravating an already substantial headache. Groaning, he threw an arm across his face to block the offensive rays.

"Good Evening," Brad greeted simply.

"It hurts," the kinetic complained.

"As I said it might. You're lucky it's nothing more than a headache. Maybe next time you'll be more inclined to heed my warnings."

Nagi removed his arm from his face so he could glare at the precog, but his expression changed quickly as the other implications of Crawford's statement sank in. He sat up so he could look his adoptive father in the eye.

"Omi, is he-"

"Alive. Yes, you saved him. In fact, he woke up yesterday morning. You did very well. Aya's almost certain he wouldn't have made it without your help."

The Japanese boy collapsed back onto the bed in relief. As his brain processed the totality of Brad's statement, it locked on to the word 'yesterday.'

"How long have I been out?"

"About thirty-six hours."

Nagi took a moment to process this piece of information as he scanned the room looking for a distraction from the pounding in his skull. Then his eyes fell on the bottle of pain killers and water glass on his nightstand. He reached for them, but Brad reached over and moved them out of his reach.

"Not yet," the precog began. "First, we need to have a small discussion."

Being in no condition to argue, the teenager nodded his assent which he regretted immediately as the motion caused a new wave of pain.

Brad continued, "I know that you saved Omi last night, and I'm glad you were able to, and while I'll not forbid you from healing other members of the team in the future, I am going to set up some limits until we can determine all the side effects and you've had an opportunity to train some. So, effective immediately you are not to try healing anyone for any reason until you and Omi have gone through all the research material we've retrieved from Esset concerning this ability. After you've put together a file, I'll review it, and we'll see about starting your training as well as Aya's since she has a similar ability. Once all the pertinent information has been considered and a training plan put together, then we will revisit the issue of these guidelines and make appropriate adjustments. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes," came Nagi's simple reply.

"Good. Here," Crawford said as he handed his adopted son a couple of pain killers and the glass of water. After the boy had swallowed the pills, he took the glass back and set it aside before reaching up and turning off the lamp. "Dinner is in about an hour, and then we have debrief after," he said as he stood to leave.

Nagi sighed. "Ok."

With that, the American crossed the room quietly, but paused before slipping out the door. "Nagi . . ."

"Yeah."

"You're actions on Omi's behalf were very admirable. You disregarded your own safety for another member of the team and in doing so you saved not only his life but the whole team. I'm very proud of you."

Before the stunned teen could reply to the praise, the precog disappeared, leaving Nagi with plenty to contemplate before dinner.

Nagi gave a small growl of frustration. He had a feeling his headache wouldn't be receding anytime soon.

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, 8:03 PM**

The air in the room was somber. Ran stood in front of the large television, his arm resting on top of the large box. Across the small room, Crawford loomed over the large armchair in which Aya was sitting.

"Before we begin," the precog began, "let me reassure everyone that Nagi and Omi are in good health." Several pairs of eyes flickered towards the two hackers sitting on the floor in front of the TV, a single laptop opened on the coffee table that had recently been added to the room.

"The first order of business," Oracle continued, "is Birman. Despite her actions, let me make something very, very clear. She is not to be hurt or retaliated against in anyway. I don't care what your feelings are concerning this situation. I want to be certain that there is no confusion on this matter at all."

A tense silence filled the room. Ran straightened from his slouch on the TV and crossed his arms. "There are a couple of things we need to clarify concerning the last two missions," he said, voice cool and controlled. "First: during the mission in Kyoto, we fought Esset agents, not Yakuza. Esset had been using the local Yakuza as a cover for their own operations."

"The entire operation at the mansion was a trap," Crawford continued, shooting an unreadable look at Ran as he spoke. "Esset was hoping to strike a serious blow to us when we entered the mansion. Our victory there, however, has bought us precious time. We will be spending the next three months at the Villa."

"Vacation?" Yohji asked, raising his eyebrows. "I'm in. How much time do we have to stock up on booze?"

"And can we invite girls?" Schu added.

"We'll be going to train," Brad replied in a dry voice. "I'm sorry if that will cut into your social life." He looked out over the room. "As soon as Esset rebuilds its presence in Japan, they are going to strike hard and fast and it is absolutely essential that we be prepared when they do so."

"Leaving for that long is going to require a great deal of prep work," Aya interrupted, frowning as she began to make a mental to-do list.

"Indeed it will," Brad agreed. "Nagi, Sakura, you twowill need to prepare to take whatever the Japanese equivalent to the GED is." The teens' eyes went wide. "I expect you two to help one another, and if you need anything I want you to let me know. It is vital that you do well on this exam. I'm counting on you both. The rest of you will be pulling extra shifts in the shop," he continued. "We need to clear out the inventory so that nothing goes to waste. Now-"

"The shop is going to be closed for three months?" Ken asked suddenly.

"Yes, we won't be here, obviously."

"Yeah, that's what I figured. So – who's going to tell all the school girls that we're going to be gone for three months?"

A suddenly, terrified silence filled the room.

"Maybe…we could just sneak away?" Nagi offered after a moment.

"They'll notice the sale," Yohji replied. "And start digging if we don't tell them why."

"That'd be very bad," Omi murmured. "Their intelligence gathering techniques rival most first-world countries'. Don't forget that they somehow found out our blood-types."

"Focus!" Brad roared, then blinked in startled surprise when Far's voice rang out at the same time, saying the same word.

"What?" Far asked casually as he caught the surprised look on the precog's face. "Do you seriously think none of us saw that coming?"

"Why is it always me who gets that?" Omi demanded in a testy voice. "Schu gets to talk, Yohji gets to make off topic comments, but as soon as I open my mouth we have to focus. I mean, I know we've never been best pals or anything, but I mean really, is it too much to ask for a little respect? A little common decency? And if you think I'm going to let you get away with treating me this way, you are so wrong. This is supposed to be a safe work environment and I demand my right to EOS."

Far was the only one that was willing to venture the question on everybody's mind, "What the hell is EOS?"

Crawford glared dangerously at the Irishman. "Do not encourage him."

"You see what I mean," Omi asked fervently. "Brad is trying to deny me my right to Equal Opportunity Sarcasm."

Brad gave Omi a sour look. "I liked you better when you were unconscious."

"Omi," Aya interrupted, her voice sweet, "could I trouble you and Toma to help Brad and I arrange for the Koneko to be closed and us all to move to the Villa? I know your help would be invaluable."

Omi gave her his most winning smile. "I would love to help, Aya. Just let me know what I need to do." His eyes flickered towards Brad. He was quick to stick his tongue out at him and resume his oh-so innocent facade.

"Does that mean I get to work with Brad?" Toma asked with interest from where he lounged on the floor.

"No, it does not," Brad growled as nearly a month's worth of sexual harassment from the young man flickered through his mind. Toma merely gave him his own innocent look.

"All this faux-innocence is making God weep," Far murmured in amusement to Ken.

Brad continued to glare at Toma. "In any case," he stated in a tightly controlled voice, "everyone will need to work very hard _without distraction_. That means any _pranksters_ in our midst should find something else to do with their time. If anyone puts our preparations into jeopardy, I will be on their ass like butter on bread."

"Mm," Toma mused, eyes bright. "Butter is so…_creamy_."

Yohji caught on quickly and decided to join in on the fun. "You know, I prefer my butter _whipped_."

"Oh yes," Toma replied, eyes dancing. "Whipped butter is _so_ much easier to _spread_."

Brad could feel blood rushing to his face. The sheer…_blatantness_ of that statement…he'd _never_….

"Mein Gott," Schu said in an awed voice. "You made Brad Crawford, the Oracle, _blush_."

Toma preened. "Well, he is my hetero-man crush."

"Your what?!"

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 25, 10:53 AM**

Yohji allowed a slow smile to overtake his face. He leaned in close, oh so very close, and just barely allowed the petal of a white rose to brush the cheek of the lovely woman who stood before him.

"It would take a great many of these lovely flowers to match your beauty, dear lady," he murmured in a husky voice.

The customer, a tourist who had in fact simply wished for directions to the train station, blushed bright red and promptly bought a dozen of the aforementioned roses. Behind her, Ken rolled his eyes at the blonde's antics and hurried to complete another arrangement.

Yohji smirked as the tourist left and glanced at Schu in triumph. The German gave him a bland look, which metamorphasized into a grotesque face as soon as the lanky blond's back was turned.

Ran glanced at Schu and shook his head. "Just because we're having a sale," he murmured, "doesn't mean you and Yohji should start playing such childish games."

"Ah, but how else are we to move all this excess inventory?" Schu replied, innocence radiating off of him. "We're just trying to make sure nothing goes to waste." With that, Schu suddenly darted to the front of the store, intercepting the new female customer and leaving the male to Yohji.

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 26, 11:07 AM**

Aya was constructing a list of chores that needed to be done before they left. "We really should wash the floors," she said with a slight frown.

Toma, sitting nearby with a laptop working on preparing the Koneko's security for an extended absence, rolled his eyes. "Not necessary. We're going to be gone for two, three months, cousin. If something is on our floor and can't be cleaned up after that amount of time, we have greater concerns."

"That's not the point," Aya said in exasperation. "It's the _principle_ of the thing, Toma."

Brad watched the back-and-forth from his desk, even as he argued with a Kritiker agent about Schatten's jurisdiction and other matters. Omi gave an aborted wave, signaling the team leader that he had the files ready to send to Kritiker.

In the end, Brad was forced to issue an ultimatum. "The facts are these, _sir_," he snapped, putting as much disdain in the address as possible. "Schatten will not be in Tokyo for the next several months. Kritiker is, _as we speak_, making the necessary arrangements. This is merely a courtesy call to inform you of the matter. If you cannot find teams capable of covering this area, that is not my concern. I…" he paused and sighed. "Yes, I will speak to Takashi."

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 26, 1:41 PM**

Nagi bit back a snarl and took a deep breath, taking a firmer hold on his telekinetic powers. "Alright," he groused, "let's try this _again_. Just because we haven't managed it in the last four hours doesn't mean anything."

Sakura felt herself tearing up, feeling both horrified by it and welcoming it. She'd been trying _so hard_ and it just didn't _make sense_ and she was getting so _tired_ and…and…

Nagi felt horror rising up in him at the sight of tears appearing in her eyes. "Oh hell," he muttered.

A few painful moments later, Yohji pushed the door open and stuck his head inside. Seeing Sakura in tears and Nagi on the verge of panic, he hurried into the room, silently calling Ran for help.

Toma and Ran appeared seconds later. Yohji had an arm wrapped around Sakura's shoulders while she took several wavering, gulping breaths. Toma smiled gently at her and reached around her to pick up her textbook. "Why don't we take a walk?" he suggested, tucking the book under his arm.

Ran watched them walk out, the small teenager flanked by two lanky men. Nagi gazed after them mournfully. "It'll be fine," he murmured. "You both just need time to cool off." Settling down next to Nagi, he glanced down on the notes. "Physics, huh?"

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 26, 2:15 PM**

Far took one look at the kind looking gentleman that had entered the shop and immediately spun around, seized Ken's arm and shoved him into the backroom.

"Wha…Far?"

"Just stay back there and shut up," the Irish man hissed. "We've been free of_it_ for a while now. There's no need to bring _it_ back."

"It? You mean…" Despite being forced into the backroom to stare at the freezers, Ken grinned. "But Far," he teased through the door, "it couldn't possibly get any-"

"I know where you sleep."

Ken snickered as he remembered just how they had gotten rid of _it_.

-----------------------------------------

_**Koneko, January 5, afternoonish**_

_Toma and Shay, having spent the past few days getting to know their new teammates, had decided that it was time to start training with the assassins. Ken being the only person free from other duties, had volunteered for the first session. As they walked down the long, metal, circuitous staircase, Ken found himself crashing head over heels down the stairs, all the way down to the basement._

_Ken lay limply at the bottom of the stairs. The number of accidents and incidents he'd been in had been increasing of late. A few moments later, Toma and Shay reached the bottom. _

_"You do realize that you were pushed, right?" Toma said as he helped pull the soccer player upright. _

_"Yeah, Murphy," Ken sighed. "Far told me about him."_

_Shay and Toma shared a look. _

_"Would you like us to get rid of it?" Shay asked carefully._

_Ken stared up at her. "Don't lie," he said in a pained voice._

_"No, really," Toma insisted. _

_Ken merely shook his head. "Don't lie to me," he repeated mournfully. "I've accepted being cursed."_

_"We're serious," Shay scolded. "We're not average folk. We don't just sense Murphy; we can see it. And we can rid you of it."_

_Ken looked from the grinning blue-haired Toma to the radiantly beautiful Shayna. "How sure are you?" he asked cautiously._

_Toma pursed his lips for a moment. "Eh, 98 percent."_

_"Do it."_

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 26, 2:39 PM**

Aya stuck her head out of the office, face brightening when she spotted Shay.

"Shay, would you mind running an errand from me?"

The auburn-haired woman looked over in surprise. "Sure," she replied as she walked out of the dining room. "What do you need?"

"A microwave for the Villa," Aya replied. "It broke during our last trip there and we've never gotten around to replacing it. And since we're going to be there for so long, we should probably get a new one to take with us. I'd ask Toma or Omi but they're out doing other errands."

"A new microwave?" Shay repeated, her brow furrowing slightly. "All right, I can do that."

"Just tell the salesman at Loft what you need," Aya suggested. "He'll point you to the right thing."

"Alright, then," Shay said with a smile. "I'll be back in a handful."

Aya giggled. "I think you mean a few."

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 26, 3:23 PM**

"But you can't leave," the school girl wailed.

Yohji wince slightly at the high pitch and gingerly patted her on the shoulder. "We won't be gone that long, Naoko-chan," he said comfortingly. "You'll turn around one day and there we'll be!"

"But I'll be eighteen in three weeks," she continued, voice reaching new heights. "And why do you _all_ have to go?"

"The Koneko's a part of a larger corporation," Ken stated as he came up behind Yohji. "And since we've been doing so well lately, headquarters wanted us to help set up the new stores. And since they're in different countries, we're going to split up into groups to do it."

_'No thanks to you girls.'_ Schu grinned at Yohji over Naoko-chan's head. _'Good thing that we came up with a cover story, isn't it?_'

Another group of school girls approached the shop. "What's going on?" one of them asked. "Why is there a sale going on?" asked another.

Naoko-chan turned mournful eyes to them. "They're all going away for months and months!" she wailed.

The shop was suddenly filled with screams.

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 26, 4:17 PM**

Toma's attention was suddenly drawn to the stairs, distracting him from the story Schu was telling him and Ran about the day he had slipped some of Far's medication into Brad's morning coffee.

"What you got there, Shay?" he called out, shifting around to drape a leg over the arm of the sitting room chair he was lounging in.

"It's a toaster oven," she said, balancing the box on the short dividing wall between the dining room and sitting room.

Toma blinked, than cast a questioning look at Ran and Schu. Seeing them shrug in equal puzzlement, he turned back to look at the woman he loved.

"Why?"

"While you and Omi were helping make the arrangements for transferring to the Villa, Aya asked me to get a microwave to replace the broken one."

Toma looked at her, silently turning her words over in his mind.

"Then why do you have a toaster oven, woman?" he asked.

Shay frowned, giving him a confused look. "Aya said that I should ask a sales man at Loft and that he'd point me to what we needed. I told the sales man that I wanted a microwave and what it was for and he said that this was what I wanted. He said it was the latest thing in convenience cooking technology."

A soft sight left the blue-haired man's lips. "How much more expensive was the toaster oven than the microwave?"

"It was a bit more, but I didn't think Aya would mind since it was the best I could get," Shay gave him an uneasy look, the confidence and pride she'd felt as she left the store beginning to fade away.

_'This is so not going to go well when she realizes she got taken advantage of,'_ Schu sent to Ran, carefully keeping his face immobile. _'She hates being wrong and hates being made to look like a fool. And both those things have happened here.'_

_'Toma's doing well enough. He'll make sure the sales man pays for putting her in this position,'_ Ran sent back.

Shay glanced at the two telepaths. They'd remained silent and carefully neutral during the exchange thus far, but it wasn't hard to realize that something was wrong.

"What did I do wrong," she demanded in a flat voice.

"Nothing and everything," Toma replied. He swung his leg off the armrest and rose to his feet. "Come on, I'll go back to the store with you and explain on the way. I'll drive if you'll toss me the keys."

"No, I will not toss you the keys, Toma," Shay stated, her voice peeved. "Not until you tell me what's wrong."

Toma bit his lip. Then in a neutral voice, began to speak. "You got taken advantage of. That sales rep sold you a piece of equipment you really didn't need simply to get a higher commission."

Shay's jaw clenched, rage and humiliation appearing in her eyes. She stuffed a hand into her jacket pocket, groping for the keys. Once they were in her grasp, she threw them at Toma (whose quick reflexes alone saved him from getting sharp metal embedded in his eyes), grabbed the box with the toaster oven and spun around, storming towards the stairs.

"Let Aya know where we are, will ya?" Toma called over his shoulder as he hurried after the infuriated woman.

"Will do," Ran replied

Moments after the top of Toma's head disappeared down the staircase Yohji's came into view. Upon seeing the two telepaths, the lanky blonde ventured a question.

"What's up with those two?"

-----------------------------------------

**Koneko, January 26, 5:49 PM**

Ran glanced up as the door to his room opened. He was seated on his bed, leaning up against the wall reading a book.

"How much of the salesman is left?" he asked as his cousin walked into the room.

"Oh, he'll live to make other sales," Toma replied. "But I think he'll be more attentive to his customers' needs in the future."

"And Shay?"

"Angry, a bit humiliated, nothing you wouldn't expect. She'll be alright, though." Toma sprawled out across the foot of the bed, feet and head dangling off the edges. "She's not used to things being so complicated. Where she grew up, it was a very straight-forward 'You insult me, I kill you and then we go have tea' kinda place."

"With a lower level of technology, I take it?" Ran asked, shutting his book and placing it next to him.

"Oh, almost medieval," Toma replied. He continued to lie across the bed, staring at the wall in silent contemplation.

"I take it something's on your mind?" the red-head finally asked.

"How do you deal with it?" At Ran's questioning look, Toma elaborated. "With just going out and killing someone simply because you were ordered to."

Ran sighed. "I deal with it because I don't have a choice and I never really did. I mean sure, there were other, more legitimate professions that I could have pursued to pay for Aya's medical care, but none of those also afforded me the opportunity to exact revenge as well. I did what I had to do. You on the other hand, do have a choice. It's not too late to back out if you really want to. I can talk to Brad."

Toma feigned a smile. "What? And leave you and Aya to have all the fun? I don't think so."

"If killing is so much fun, then why are you here?" Ran asked seriously.

When he received no response, he pushed forward. "Toma, doing what we do is rough. It's not pretty and no matter how you try and rationalize it or justify it, the plain and simple fact is that we are murderers. Is what we do necessary? Yes. If we don't do it will Kritiker find someone else who will? Hell yes. So, we do it, but we pay. We pay in guilt and shame. We pay in sleepless nights because our dreams are haunted. We pay with the pain of each injury, and with the loneliness that must be maintained so that our cover isn't compromised. And while I might wish death on my worst enemy, I would never wish on anyone the weight of the cross I bear. That goes double for family. So, do you want out?"

Toma looked Ran in the eye. "I will not leave you alone. Not again."

The telepath sighed. He had tried to save his cousin from a life and a pain he knew all to well, but the blue-haired archer would have none of it. So, it was time to help him through what was sure to be the beginning of many hard times. "Then tell me what it was about the mission in Kyoto that's bothering you."

"The part at the warehouse wasn't bad. In fact, it really reminded me of battle. It was kill or be killed. I can cope with that. But the part at the office building . . ."

Ran waited patiently for his cousin to continue, knowing that now was not the time to push.

"It just felt wrong," he finally said. "Do you remember the time that group of guys we met when we were younger wanted us to go to that party with them, but you said no because it didn't feel right? I remember how persistent you were that something was wrong, and I thought you'd really lost it, but then we saw on the news how they'd been in an accident on the way to the party, and if we'd been in the car with them we would have been killed too. It's like that same sort of persistent feeling that you talked about having that night."

Toma let out a frustrated sigh. "And now I sound as crazy as I thought you did that night. But all I can think is how that guy in that office, the target, he didn't do anything to me. He never hurt me or anybody that I care about. And I just stood there, and watched while Schu dispatched of him like one might do with a pesky house fly. And you . . ."

"What about me?" Ran prompted gently.

"You just stood there, cold and aloof. Completely detached and smiling a crazy smile like Schu. And I guess I was too because I didn't want to let you down or screw up the mission or do anything to get you hurt or give us away, but . . . I . . . I was scared . . . I was scared of you." Toma finished softly. When he saw the hurt look that flashed through the red-head's eyes, he regretted the statement even though it was the truth.

"Toma, I would never hurt you."

"I know. I just can't get the picture of you standing in that office out of my head. I have these ideas about how you are in my head from when we were growing up, but that picture doesn't go with any of them. I can't reconcile the you I saw that day with the you I know, and I suddenly find myself asking if I really know you at all."

Understanding his cousin's dilemma, Ran prepared to explain the best he could. "Toma, when you're in a battle deep in the thick of things, are your mindset, actions, and thought processes the same as they are in your everyday life?" The blue-haired warrior across from him shook his head. "Would you say that when you're in a fight that you take on a different persona?" He got a nod in response. "The same thing happens when we're on a mission. You watch anybody that's a part of this team during a mission and you'll see someone you don't recognize because they've donned a different persona.

"The reason you can't reconcile what you saw on that mission with what you know of me is because the person you saw that night wasn't me, at least not all of me. You were watching my Abyssinian persona, and Schu's Mastermind persona. And except in the course of a mission you will never know that part of me or anybody else.

"Our personas are our safe guard. They mask us from the dark beasts. Because even though we go to kill them, somehow it's still important that they not see us. It's important that our identities remain secret. Our personas also help us hide from ourselves. They allow us to bottle up and contain that dark part of us that's often times too difficult to confront.

"As for your concern that the man we killed never did anything to you, it's true that he'd never done anything to us directly, but how long would it have taken before his activities did touch our lives? How long before his operations spread back to Tokyo and some of the thugs working for him decided to mug Shay or Aya? Or till we had to go take out one of his underlings and one of us got hurt or killed? Letting men like that continue in their activities just because they haven't hurt you yet, only gives them more time to hurt others before they get around to hurting you. I've often wondered how my life would be different if Shuichi Taketori had been man enough to kill his brother. But he wasn't and so Reiji Taketori was allowed to continue on with his criminal activities, destroying countless lives in the process. So, no he hadn't hurt you or any of us, but how long? How long would it have taken?"

A contemplative silence filled the room as Toma mulled over everything his cousin had just said to him. Everything Ran had said made sense, and had, in a way, helped him understand the world his cousin had been living in the past few years, the very same one he had gotten himself caught up in when he showed up here less than a month back.

"I guess all that craziness I got into a few years back was different," Toma finally said. "I know that Brad, Schu, Yohji and everyone else scoff at the idea of demons and magic. It's really out there, though. The Elders you fought so long ago were using it." He shook his head. "I'm not even certain they were still human. I can't tell you for certain, though. I wasn't close enough to be able to really tell.

"What I think I'm trying to say is that the battles I fought in the past were very clear cut – enter the evil demon, fight, fight, fight until he's finished." He laughed, a bitter sound that rang hollowly in the small room. "Leave it to humans to complicate things. I understand, though, now that you've explained things."

Toma twisted around until he lay on his stomach and gave his adopted cousin a sidelong look. "We'll have to wait and see if I can cut it in this world. But I think," he smiled slightly, "that the experience Shay and I have in open war will help you in turn." As a grin suddenly spread across his face, Toma sat up. "Make you a deal," he said. "You teach me the stealth, dark ninja side of this war and we'll teach you the way warriors fight in the open."

"It's a deal." Ran replied.

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**Koneko, January 26, 6:13 PM**

Yohji stood frozen in the middle of the kitchen. His eyes were wide, his face pale and his mind racing. Shay had crumpled against the counter, head buried in her arms as she sobbed. Taking a quick, fortifying breath, Yohji reached out and awkwardly patted her shoulder.

"It's not…I mean, everyone messes up every now and then," he stuttered. How had Shay gone from steely warrior woman to sobbing wreck? All he'd done was tease about her earlier purchasing mishap. It wasn't out of character! They teased each other all the time, poking back and forth while working in the shop or during the patient tutoring in his unwieldy ability to influence the area around him, an ability that, while not as flashy as Sakura's time manipulation, was quickly becoming equally potent.

"It's not…" Shay managed after a few moments. "It's just…everything's been so hard." She looked up at him, tears still rolling down her face. "This place is so confusing. The technology, the people…there's so much to remember and I just keep messing up! I feel so stupid. I can only imagine what everyone else must think after I screwed up such a simple task."

The patting seemed to help. Rubbing seemed to be even better. "It's understandable that it would be confusing," the blonde offered. "You and Schu were separated at a very young age and you grew up in a place with very straightforward customs and low tech. Having to suddenly switch from one to the other would be hard for anyone. I think you've done really well.

"And you are not stupid. The way you deal with Toma, there's no way that anyone could think otherwise. So, stupid, definitely not, but crazy, well that's up for debate."

That got a weak smile. "I'm sorry," Shay murmured, straightening and wiping her eyes with a trembling hand. "I just wanted to forget about that stupid toaster oven and then you came in and…"

"And it all just hit you," Yohji finished, hesitantly continuing to rub her back in what seemed to be a soothing manner. "Shay, we all make mistakes. Hell, I've screwed up so much of my life, you're little bargain shopping escapade pales in comparison. My point is, that pretty much everyone in this family has messed up, and not just a little, either. Nobody here is going to think any less of you if you don't always get everything right. We're here to help; that's what families are for."

Suddenly, the blonde playboy smiled as an idea struck him. "In fact, from now on I insist that if you have a problem or aren't sure about how to approach a situation, that you come and talk to me about it."

Shay smirked at this, quickly regaining her steely warrior exterior. "You insist do you?"

"Yeah, well, you're helping me with my power, and this is the best way I can think of to return the favor. And anything we talk about will stay just between the two of us. Sound good?"

The auburn-haired woman in graced him with a dazzling smile. "Actually, that sounds great. Thanks Yotan."

"Anytime," the lanky assassin replied as he watched her leave the kitchen. Watching her climb the stairs, Kudoh congratulated himself on salvaging the situation. For one thing, his life would have been in serious jeopardy had he let Shay leave the kitchen in tears, but more importantly, it would have ruined his reputation. Kudoh Yohji did not make girls cry.

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**Kritiker Headquarters, Koneko, January 28, 2:30 PM**

"Everything is in order for your absence," Birman said as she handed a small stack of papers to Crawford. "We may need small teams of Schatten to come back to Tokyo for jobs but barring the unforeseen, we shouldn't need all of you."

"Very good," Crawford replied as he laid the papers in his briefcase. "Is there anything else?"

Birman hesitated noticeably, clearly reluctant to continue. "There is one more matter," she finally admitted. "The mission at the mansion was clearly a trap." She gave him a pained look. "There's a leak somewhere in Kritiker. And since half of Schatten is made up of former Esset agents, you are all the primary suspects."

Rage appeared in Brad's eyes, a frightening sight without his glasses interfering.

"I did get permission from Persia for you to run an internal investigation once you arrive at the Villa," the Kritiker agent quickly added. "You'll only have a few days and will need to report in as quickly as possible. Otherwise, I won't be able to stop it from turning into a formal inquiry. Especially if you come back with nothing."

"I see," Brad replied, voice cool. "I assume that's all?"

"Yes," Birman began.

"Then I have something to say to you," Crawford interrupted, rising from the chair in front of her desk. He leaned across the wooden surface until he could whisper into her ear, his voice cold and hard. "You have until we leave for the Villa to make your choice. You're either for us or against us." Oracle paused here and his voice lost some of its edge. "We can't protect you if you choose to work against us. Choose well."

Birman's eyes had gone wide. Brad straightened and raised a hand to adjust his tie. He picked up the briefcase and turned, walking towards the door. As his hand came to rest upon the doorknob, he turned once more. "Remember," he said softly. "There is no middle ground."

The door opened and shut gently, and Birman was alone.

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	7. Author Notice Good News

**Improbability Factor – Author Notice**

**This story has NOT been abandoned.**

**Work IS progressing on this story.**

**There WILL be an update by summer.**

**We have NOT forgotten this story.**

Writing has gotten a lot more complicated, however. The authors involved in Mayhem21 have graduated and are living in very different parts of Texas. Thalia's computer has been in the shop for almost two months – it stopped recognizing that it was receiving power.

Ptath is now pursuing a Masters in Information Science, which is graduate level work. She's extremely busy.

Hope remains, however.

Ptath and Thalia have been talking about the story a LOT.

There are scenes written that are just waiting for the rest of the chapter.

And…they've found something. A freeware writing program. It consolidates in itself a lot of the notes written over the years and have to be kept up with.

What you need to know:

**WE ARE WORKING, THE STORY IS NOT ABANDONED.**

**WE WILL FINISH THIS STORY IF IT KILLS US.**

One other thing -

Something else is being written right now as well.

Who here likes Toma and Shay? Ptath is working on a filler ficlet, one that will explain what they were doing after they met and before they joined Schatten.

We don't know when it'll be posted. One and two thirds chapters have been written. The rest have been outlined to varying degrees.

You should go read "One Night Out". It's a sequel. "One Night Out" is where Toma and Shay meet. It's fun.

Go read. We'll finish the story. Promise.


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